Of Desires and Temptations
by Imthiskindofgirl
Summary: During the first war between the fallen and the angels, a doubting Principality and an exhausted demon snake met unexpectedly, trying to find a second of peace outside their sides. Little did they know that encounter would repeat itself endlessly through time until they find the peace their sides lack on each other.
1. The first war

**Chapter 1: The First War**

Aziraphale had never been in a battlefield before. He had sincerely hoped that learning how to properly hold a sword would be an ability he'd never be obligated to use in a real do-or-die situation. If he was honest with himself, the angel rather enjoyed protecting things in a more… metaphorical way. He was pretty good at it, actually. Under a proper situation, the angel had a way with words. He could be pretty convincing when he wanted to in a verbal argument. Unfortunately, since Lucifer and his followers rebelled against God, there hadn't been a place for any civilized discussion in a long time. The risks were way higher, and nobody in either Heaven or Hell seemed to have any intentions of dropping their weapons and try to sort things out speaking, even though this was the smartest way of sorting out some sort of agreement in the Principality's opinion. It would be indeed more civilized than what he was witnessing in the moment anyway.

Violent screams could be heard everywhere as angels fought against creatures that had been once like them. Fallen angels were, after all, angels. _But they are not like us, look at their monstrous eyes_. He remembered the words of several Powers echoing inside of his mind before he began fighting. Aziraphale refused to confess that he had never tried as hard as he had on avoiding taking a part of this war. He wasn't sure about what to expect, but it did look crueler than he could've ever imagined. There were no angels or demons, but blood. Pain. Shrieks. Darkness. The angel could sense it in every possible way. He could feel it as Michael stabbed a black-haired demon in the back, melting them into a black pond instantly; he could smell it in the several injuries Uriel had across their face and could see it in the river of blood that was staining his pale feet. It shook him as another Principality had its head ripped off by a strange creature with black eyes that suddenly noticed him.

The demon swayed his teeth at him. Not truly interested, the Principality simply cut his feet. It wasn't a deadly injury, but it was enough of a distraction to give him some time away from the battle. His blue eyes were desperately trying to find a hiding place. Scratch that. He needed a thinking place: somewhere peaceful to catch his breath and shut his anxious mind up. The angel hated his lousy mind sometimes. He had a disability to control his thoughts, which was incredibly frustrating due to the fact that he just couldn't act properly when his mind began to ramble.

He slowly started to walk away from the battle, leaving both angels and demons behind, as he finally depicted a small aperture in one of the sides of the battlefield. It was some sort of small aperture that led to a cave. The angel quickly glanced inside: it appeared to be empty. He sighed relieved before getting inside.

Aziraphale let his sword on the ground as soon as he got inside, feeling a big weight leaving his shoulders as he let go of his flaming sword handle, the sound of it falling to the ground resounding in the place. The cave's floor felt wet under his bare feet, a weird scent of something -that he'd then realize it was dirt- was intoxicating the air but, instead of making him freak out, it somehow calmed the distressed angel out. Without thinking it through, he collapsed to the ground, approaching his legs to his chest. Aziraphale didn't really understand why, but staying in that position used to help him relax. He looked up once before sinking his head between his knees and he realized little light was entering the cave, reason why it was quite dark inside. The darkness was something almost every angel avoided. In that moment, Aziraphale truly wished for nothing more than the darkness to embrace him completely. He felt like he wasn't facing a war against the rebels, but against his own conscience. On one hand, the Principality was a trained soldier who was doing the right thing by protecting Heaven and his siblings from those treacherous creatures. On the other hand, he was also destroying the lives of hundreds of beings who didn't even get a second chance to redeem themselves. They were angels once, if they had the ability of turning bad… then they must also contain the cure to turn good again, didn't they? Oh, God, he was truly feeling quite exhausted and didn't really enjoy the implications of finding a legal vacuum in Heaven's Holy Laws. But then again, angels were creatures of kindness and love, meant to represent God's Love for every creature in existence… and they were still killing demons mercilessly.

It was quite dark inside the cave, although the angel was capable of seeing. Well, he was capable of seeing things that were close to him. In fact, the distressed angel hadn't even sensed a small creature lurking in the shadows, staring at him with wide opened yellow eyes concernedly.

The creature had been hiding in that cave for at least a few weeks now, bathing in the darkness, enjoying it, as he waited for the war to cease. No angel or demon had showed any interest in stopping their fight. Well, no one except himself. So, it made perfect sense for him to resolve to stay out of the way. After all, Lucifer was the one who insisted on angels disobeying orders, right? Then, he'd probably feel quite proud of this demon who decided to disobey an order from Lucifer himself.

No one had even noticed his absence. It was the weirdest of feelings actually. One part of him felt actually quite hurt at noticing how little his new family cared about him while another side was filled with relief. After all, this was the proof he needed to realize that no one cared about what he did in Hell, so he was free to do almost anything -except, of course, something remarkable stupid as, I don't know, helping Heaven or an angel-. Then, deep down, there was the small hope that everyone assumed he had died and, as the thought of how easier everything would be if he was actually dead kept on approaching his mind, he would shut his thoughts with a hiss.

As long as no one saw him, he'd be fine. But of course God had decided to punish him by making a _fucking_ angel enter the cave so unexpectedly fast that it almost made the demon shriek.

At first, the demon -Crawly was his given name by the way- thought that the war had ended and angels were sent to get rid of all the demons that were left. Crawly's demon shape was a snake; of course any angel with half a mind could sense him kilometers away. So, he quickly dipped harder into the darkness.

But then the angel did something even more unexpected: he let go of his sword. Crawly's head titled to the side curiously. He frowned and tried to focus on the outside of the cave. The sound of crashing metal could still be heard there. The demon sighed as he realized the war was far from ending and that the angel couldn't possibly know that he was there. He let his only weapon fall to the ground, for Satan's sake. He didn't seem to be a fit to be in a war, let alone to be holding a weapon.

The angel gave two steps inside the cave before sitting down and pressing his knees against his chest. He muttered something, probably talking to himself as it didn't sound as a life threat. Crawly stared at him, his initial interest being replaced by disappointment. It simply was a coward little angel who was hiding from the battle. Of course, he was hiding himself, but it was more of a 'show my disagreement towards these bitches' kind of thing than hiding in order to 'save my own ass because I'm weak as fuck' kind of thing. Angels were always so hypocrite. Heaven was too. Sometimes, when he didn't miss his white wings or golden eyes, he was even glad of having ditched Heaven. Sure, Hell sucked too, but at least no one lied about it.

The angel dipped his head inside of his knees as he kept mumbling incomprehensible words to himself non-stop. The demon's small span of attention was getting filled by that time, so he just decided to let the angel be. He didn't seem much of a threat and fighting him would bring too much unwanted attention. Before leaving, he gave the pathetic angel a last gaze. He would've chuckled if it wasn't because of the fact that snakes couldn't chuckle. It was just too much to bear, a fucking angel was cowardly hiding under his noses, and he hadn't even sensed him! Oh, for Satan, he couldn't believe he once was worried about him. He even let his only weapon on-

Crawly's yellow eyes got wider as he recognized the sword: it was a Principality sword. And not any sword: it was a flaming sword. He had only heard rumors about the existence of that sword. Its use was reserved only to the best of the angels. He looked up at the poor excuse of an angel before him. Perhaps he was being shallow, but that angel didn't seem like something out of the ordinary. To be honest, he didn't even have gold on his body, or any trace of holiness in his skin, which was a pretty common trade for angels. He was just so… bland. Dressed with a plain white robe, barefoot and not even cleaning the dirt out of his blond hair. Having that dull being as the flaming sword bearer was probably a Heaven's mistake. They had made even worse mistakes in the past so it wasn't even surprising.

As he started moving away from the angel, the thought crossed his mind. It was almost like an inner voice. _You should kill him_. The demon stopped on his track. _Take the sword, Hell will surely appreciate it_. He had killed tons of angels by that time, it wouldn't even be the first or last time he'd murder one. Taking advantage of his snake form, he wouldn't even have to fight him. He could slither slowly until he got to his neck. One small bite would be enough to bring death to the angel. Crawly inspected the blond being in front of him once more: his head was still sank-in between his legs, shaking like a feather, though the demon couldn't really sense fear inside of him. _Kill him; he's a threat for us_. He should kill the fearlessly afraid angel before he'd sensed him. _He will kill you if you don't_.

Crawly started to slither as silently as he could. He was well aware of the fact that angels were really sensitive beings, so he didn't want to tempt his luck. He was fortunate enough to have gotten this far already. Circling the borders of the cave, Crawly got closer to his prey with his fangs trying to control themselves before the moment to strike. His golden eyes narrowed even further, his full concentration was put on the angel. _You'd be praised by killing him_. A silent smirk was planted on the demon's heart. This was just too easy. Perhaps too easy. A small flash of doubt crossed his insides. He couldn't risk his life; he had to act fast before anyone realized it. One bite should be enough. The angel wouldn't even scream. He'd just accept death silently. What could go wrong? _Kill him_. Crawly murdered too many angels to even remember it… why… why would Hell want this one dead so much?

As he got closer to the angel's body, he started to listen to his muffled voice. He still wasn't able to understand his words completely, but his voice seemed… familiar? _Kill him_. Why? Was it because of the sword or… or was there something else? Crawly's thirst for blood began to calm down, even though he truly wished it hadn't. It was stronger than him. Crawly had always found questioning way more entertaining than doing evil deeds. Sure, they were fun but also repetitive and patronizing. Plus, killing this harmless angel just felt...

"Why does it feel so wrong?" the muffled voice of the angel suddenly said almost reading Crawly's mind without even knowing it.

The demon stared shocked. His heart started drumming extremely fast for no reason. He stood there, a few inches away from the angel's neck, completely frozen. His questions were replaced by one huge statement: the angel questioned the war. It wasn't fear, as he once thought. It was disgust, confusion and concern. It stabbed the serpent in more than one way. He was hiding in the cave because he also disagreed with the current state of Heaven and Hell. The voice that kept ordering Crawly disappeared all of a sudden and he felt a strange sensation of relief that made him get too close to the angel's skin, finally touching him.

Aziraphale stopped his mourning with a jump. He stood up as fast as he could before finally giving a glance to what had touched him. Before him stood a long black and red snake with two amber bright eyes that pierced his soul by any passing second. It didn't take him long to realize that the being was indeed a demon. He had assumed the place was empty too fast. To be honest, he hadn't properly checked in the first place, too busy to quiet his own mind to even care about his surroundings at all.

The demon looked as surprised as him, which made him startle even more. The snake had his mouth opened, revealing two fangs that were dripping with venom. Almost as a reflex act, the angel approached his right hand to his neck as the whole gravity of the situation started to kick in. He didn't feel anything out of the ordinary with his corporation, but he wasn't familiar with serpents or demons, their attacks could be as deadly as silent. Or at least that's what Heaven kept on telling them. _Demons are not trustworthy, they betrayed God after all_. Aziraphale stared at his hand after touching his neck. It was completely empty, no marks of blood or pain or dropping skin or anything that could possibly mean danger.

The blonde angel stared at his companion. The demon was just… staring at him, as if he had so many things to say that he just didn't know how to start. Was he supposed to… talk to him? It would be rude not to in any typical situation. But this was not a typical situation. His face became paler as he took a step back. His mind had suddenly sending him a clear message: run. It was dangerous to stay in a closeted dark space with a demon. He was pretty sure there was even a rule against that in some of the training they had had before he was sent to the war. Demons knew their way in the dark. It didn't take him long to decide that it was the best for everyone if he just left as if nothing had happened.

Heaven didn't need to know the details, of course. He still remembered that frightful day in which Michael alongside some Powers were pointing out the different reasons why demons should be murdered instantly. _'Wouldn't… thwart them be more effective?'_ Aziraphale had once dared to ask. He wasn't too eager at realizing that absolutely every single angel in the room had suddenly turned to him astonished. Their eyes weren't that much full of love as they once used to be, being replaced instead by something darker. Call it what you want, hatred, wrath, vengeance… and it deeply ached him, because that look was the only thing Aziraphale was starting to truly hate. And it was just… everywhere. Everyone had it. The differences he once expected to see so clearly between angels and demons became too blurry in the battlefield. All of their eyes were filled with that _darkness_.

A quick thought flashed the angel's mind, making him frown a little. He then turned to see the demon in front of him. His yellow eyes were something he had never seen before. Or had he? A small headache prevented him to press the thought much further. The important thing about his eyes though, was the fact that they shined through and through. They were lively, curious, a bit malicious maybe, but still bright. There was no darkness in his snake-shaped eyes. The demon in front of him lacked the darkness that every other single angel in Heaven had.

After a long awkward silence, the demon finally shifted into a more angelical form. He was quite different from Aziraphale, taller, with a darker skin and long red hair that passed his shoulder's line. He had also spread his wings, which were as dark as the caves' shadows. His eyes remained the same though, and were still staring at him as if he was some sort of new species he was keen to discover. He kept on staring, making the angel fiddle with his fingers nervously. The demon then… smirked at him? "What feels wrong?" he asked finally, clear amusement in his voice.

Aziraphale wished he had said something clever. Something that would definitely make his adversary respect him or at least something to shut that triumphant smirk up. Unfortunately, his talent with words was as messed up as his mind at the moment. "Uh… I beg your pardon?"

The demon rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You asked why it felt wrong. What were you talking about?"

The angel took a few steps back and covered his mouth with his hands in horror. The demon had listened to his doubts. The demon saw him doubting. No one was supposed to know that, he had his already paranoid mind to take care of it. That was probably the reason why he didn't kill him: the demon saw an opportunity to make an angel fall. "I didn't say that" he denied it automatically.

Crawly wide opened his eyes. Did he just… lie to him? Was that even allowed?

Upon seeing the shock in the demon's eyes, Aziraphale looked down ashamed. "I don't want to talk about it" he managed to say so softly that Crawly unconsciously made a step forward to him. He'd never admit it -well, at least not for a few millennia-, but the thought of comforting the angel crossed his mind. In fact, no, it didn't cross his mind, it just fucking stated there. It seemed like the most natural thing in the Universe to do. "What are you doing?" the angel asked confused at his recent approaching.

Not ready for answering, Crawly's mouth shut up too violently. He needed to answer that question. Well, he didn't really. But he wanted to. Not so much for the angel, but for himself too. What kind of fucked up demon goes after an angel just because he seemed to need comfort? No. A demon would not do that. A demon would…

_Kill him_.

There it was again. And Crawly finally understood. That angel had brought down walls he had built up since the very first existence of the stars. Crawly couldn't recall much about being an angel -another great consequence of falling-, but he did remember feeling insecure, left out… feeling different from the rest. So, he started to distance himself from his supposed brothers, having admittedly given up on that whole 'angels love everything with their entire heart' thing -also, he couldn't recall any other angel actually loving-.

The blonde angel in front of him made him drop that self-put distance in less than a heartbeat. Crawly quickly realized he had underestimated him: that angel was the most dangerous being he had ever encountered because he managed to look through him. _He'll kill you given the chance_. The demon looked down at the angel's empty hands and, before he could have second thoughts on the matter, he grabbed the flaming sword.

Even as a shadow covered his face, Crawly could see how the angel stared at him in pure terror. Yes. That's how he was supposed to look at him. _He's not like you. He's never going to understand you_.

Aziraphale could feel tears in his eyes as the light in the demon's eyes banished being replaced with such darkness he actually knew he was going to die. He was not meant to live in war anyways. He let out a sad sight irritated. "I hate this war" he muttered under his breath as Crawly started to wield the sword to him.

_Crack._

They both stopped their internal and external crisis as they looked down at the ground. Another crack was enough for them to realize that they ground was literally breaking under their feet. And, before they could even try to run away, the ground opened in half, making both of them fall down.

Aziraphale opened an eye. His head hurt and his body too, but all in all, he was in quite a decent state for his corporation. The angel slowly sat on the ground and tried to recall what exactly had happened. Flashes of a demon with his sword and the ground opening crossed his mind. He touched his forehead, seeking comfort. Right… The demon almost killed him, he thought bitterly. It wasn't unexpected at all. It was just… disappointing to be honest. He could've sworn to God that there was something different about that demon. Not that he cared, of course. It was just… ugh… he even felt… familiar. Was that even possible? Also, why couldn't-

He almost shrieked at the touch of cold skin against his hand. He had forgotten about the fact that he had fallen alongside the demon. _God, that sounded wrong_. He looked down and guilt stung him as he felt relieved to find the demon still unconscious laying by his side. He wasn't glad that his fiend had been knocked out, of course. He just was… glad that he wasn't able to kill him basically. The angel tried to comfort himself by reassuring that the demon would've felt the same way if their roles were reversed.

As softly as he could in order not to wake the demon up, Aziraphale stood up, took his sword -that had fallen with them too- and started to walk away. Though, much to the angel's dismay, they were in a cave that was even deeper than the one they were in before with no visible way out. Would a miracle be considered too frivolous in a do-or-die situation? The Principality really couldn't tell why, but he had never seen any angel use their powers to beat the demons. Was it some kind of unspoken rule that they should fight as physically as possible? It was rather mundane if you stopped to think about it.

The demon made a slow movement all of a sudden, making the angel stand still in his place. Shyly, the angel looked over his shoulder, not knowing what he actually wanted out of this situation. If the demon woke up, he'd be dead. If the demon didn't wake up and die, he'd feel guilty till the end of his days.

The demon hadn't woken up, in fact, he seemed to have stopped breathing making Aziraphale's moral crisis grew another wrinkle in his face. The angel didn't want the demon to die, even though the demon clearly felt the opposite about him. The thing was… his eyes… they shined with faith. It didn't truly matter if that faith was in God really. As long as he had faith in something, then it was worth it.

If he was facing the music, Aziraphale would've admitted that the thing he was more afraid of was losing that light himself. The angel had certain needs regarding hope and love that he'd never been truly capable of fully filling. It's been a while since he felt… hopeful about something. Quite a while actually, though he couldn't recall when. Probably before Lucifer and his followers fell.

"Oh, Lord…" he muttered before biting his lips nervously.

Making a choice mentally didn't make it any easier in the outside, but he did what he could. Firstly, he put the sword in a side as far as possible of the demon. Then, he approximated the demon as quietly as he could, trying not to make any sudden moves as he fiddled with his fingers anxiously.

The angel got as close as he could from the demon. Aziraphale had never seen a demon from so close. Of course, he knew what they ought to look like. Honesty had always been a Heaven's virtue after all, so the Principality was well aware of how fallen angels were supposed to look like. Their eyes changed, their wings burned, and they were utterly repulsing, showing their inner evilness as a reminder of what would happen if you let yourself be blinded by evil.

The blonde angel squatted next to his supposed enemy. And, before he could realize what he was doing, he smiled. Aziraphale didn't honestly understand why, but staring at him was something delightful. Moreover the fact that the demon seemed extremely peaceful under the effects of unconsciousness, Aziraphale's heart felt a little warmer with every little discovery of something they had in common. They weren't so different, actually. At least not as different as Heaven signaled them to be. They both had two legs, two arms, a face, a nose, two eyes, a mouth… of course, the demon's eyes weren't as heavenly as Gabriel's or Michael's, but they were still something lovely. He felt his face somehow… warmer? Before looking up. Their wings weren't that much different either. Sure, the demon's ones were black but they still had feathers and seemed to be pretty soft and well-groomed. The rest of the differences they had were merely superficial, the kind of differences everybody in the Universe had. The demon's body was thinner than his, for example, his sharp cheekbones were definitely something you couldn't miss out on. Also, he had a bright red long hair that reminded Aziraphale of simpler times, when fire was just a small warm flame that just threatened to hurt you rather than destroying you.

As he moved a lock of hair out of his face carefully, the angel found another difference. Just by his right ear, the demon had a black snake mark. Not only that, but it also seemed that it had remains of blood in its borders. Aziraphale frowned and, almost unconsciously, extended his hand to touch the mark. As soon as his hand was a few centimeters about it, his suspicions were confirmed: it was an injury. He couldn't sense the way it had been made -probably something from Hell- but it did bothered the angel. _Demons are monsters, they even enjoy physical pain_, he could recall many angels stating not long ago, conveniently a few days before the war stroke. The angel had wondered since that moment if that was completely true. Without a second thought, he touched the injury, pressing it tightly enough. The demon flinched making the angel frown. It actually hurt him, it wasn't so deep either. Perhaps a miracle could heal him, though the mark would remain like a scar.

Lost in thoughts, Aziraphale didn't notice Crawly's wide amber eyes opening shockingly at the sudden feeling of warmth expanding through his face. In a dramatic fashion, he sat up staring face to face with the angel he had just tried to murder. He panicked as he realized the angel was holding his face. An angel touch could burn a demon, everybody in Hell knew that.

The demon quickly stood up, his eyes still staring in shock at the angel. He looked at the sides, slowly putting two and two together before remembering how they ended up there. He then proceeded to touch the warm place the angel's hand had left in his right cheek. It remained there, but it wasn't deadly yet luckily. He had stopped the angel just in time.

Aziraphale stood up too. The demon's eyes had that light again and he thought for a moment that everything would turn out okay. But then the demon shot him a glare with the deepest darkness he had ever sensed in anyone before. "What are you doing?!" he exclaimed, anger vibrating every single thread inside of him.

Aziraphale suddenly wondered how someone could have so much light and darkness at the same time, but let the question inside his mind. "You're hurt" he simply pointed out, trying not to sound too concerned over it.

The light returned into the demon's eyes. Fuck. The angel truly sounded worried. _He is not; he just wants to prove his side is right_. The red-haired being glared at him again, though the light was still there. "Well, fuck yeah I am! May I remind you that I have just fucking fell off! And hit my head against the ground quite strongly, if you haven't noticed!" he hissed, pronouncing each 's' a little more than necessary. He was straight up furious, screaming like a mad man… and the angel just stared at him unaltered. "Has Heaven finally lost its little common sense it had left, angel?!" he insulted angrily, pronouncing the word 'angel' as if it was the most poisonous venom in the entire Universe.

The angel simply shook his head as he stood up. "Don't talk like that" he said to him softly, not really taking it as an insult, but rather worried about what Heaven could do to the demon if they heard him. At realizing this weird assumption, Crawly let a little chuckle out and looked down, thinking to himself. It wasn't like he could fall a second time.

The demon's small smirk quickly left his face as he looked up to notice that the angel was walking to the direction where he was. Crawly swallowed hard and took a step back as the angel made one forward. He expected his blond companion to stop by that time, but he just kept on walking closer to him as the demon kept on moving backwards. Unfortunately, he was too busy staring astonished at the angel that he forgot that they were inside a small cave and so, before he could even realized it; he hit his back against a wall. His first thought was to try to find the sword, but as he desperately looked out for it, he realized that it was way too far away from him. The demon looked down embarrassed: there was no way out. Perhaps the angel would have mercy on him by killing him fast. Maybe if he was taken as a prisoner he could find a way out, even finding out more information about Heaven to bring back to Hell.

Once Aziraphale was closer enough to touch, Crawly decided to look up at the angel who had just beat him in his own game. His jaw almost dropped at the sight of two blue eyes that shined brighter than Hellfire and were more intoxicating than Holy Water. They weren't filled with anger, vengeance or hatred as he was used to see, but with kindness. Crawly felt the angel's hand on his cheek again and he truly didn't care. Those eyes were the most peaceful sight he had seen since he last looked up at the stars. He'd be happy dying like this, staring at something as beautiful as the stars for the last time.

Aziraphale stared at Crawly's eyes too. Why had he found them so unsettling in the first place? To be honest, they were the only thing that could calm his anxious mind as he was healing a demon. Principalities were meant to fight in wars, not to heal their enemies. They were the last kind of angel to show this type of compassion… but… angels were supposed to do that, right? They were supposed to show love to every single being in existence. The only reason why Heaven was fighting was because they were protecting their home, right? Even though this particular demon didn't seem like a threat at all. He could feel himself growing tense as the demon was slowly relaxing.

Crawly closed his eyes, expecting his end… though by the time the angel let go of his face, he realized it never came. Sure, the angel's hands were still warm but they never actually burned him. They didn't even hurt; it was a typical kind of warmth. A harmless kind of warmth, similar to the one he was feeling in his lower parts. As a matter of fact, he felt… no pain at all.

The demon wide opened his eyes and touched his serpent mark. It wasn't bleeding anymore. Nothing was bleeding or burning anymore. It went down on him. Like a lead balloon. "You healed me" Crawly stated astonished.

"You're welcome" the angel simply answered, as if that was something any other angel in his place would've done, and then turned his back on him and started to walk away, looking for a way out.

A new kind of pain crossed Crawly's heart again as the angel moved away from him. The demon didn't understand why, but he just decided to follow the blue-eyed fool who just did the only thing that you couldn't do in war: helping the enemy. He just couldn't get over the idea of an angel showing genuine affection and kindness to him. Scratch that. He just couldn't get over the idea of someone showing genuine affection and kindness to him. He wondered if he had ever felt that, even back in Heaven. A small headache made him give up on trying before coming to the conclusion that probably not. The demon's eyes diluted as he realized there was nothing he wanted more in that moment than the angel to get close to him again. To talk to him again. To touch him again.

"I'm assuming you're not going to kill me then" the demon said, trying poorly to begin some kind of conversation. If losing the war assured him that he would meet that angel again, he'd just handle over his rendition.

"Oh" Aziraphale was taken aback by that. He stared at the ground thoughtfully. "I don't really have a reason to kill you. That is, if you don't try to kill me first"

The demon chuckled. "So, that's your plan? Not killing any demon unless they attack you?" he mocked. "Then, you'll be probably dead by tomorrow, angel" there was no real malice behind that statement. In fact, it had been probably the first time since he fell in which he said the word 'angel' with no hatred at all. It suddenly crossed his mind that, if all the angels were like this, then the word 'angel' could actually be worth it.

Finally, Aziraphale came across a side of the cave that had an aperture big enough for both of them to go out. He looked to the other side: the battle still continued. "Angels aren't supposed to kill… anything" he muttered as he watched half his brothers bleed in the hands of the demons, and the other half murdering demons themselves. In some way, it was even gloomier after meeting a demon who wasn't actually a reincarnation of evil itself. Maybe many of the demons being murdered without having a second chance were like that too.

Crawly stared at the battle too. Although he had new thoughts on the matter, nothing had changed for the demons and the angels who were still giving their lives on the battlefield. He shrugged and looked back at the angel beside him. The light in his eyes was darkening and his skin seemed paler all of a sudden.

"I don't like this more than you do, you know?" Later on, Crawly would torture himself wondering why he had said that. He never had any reason to excuse himself, let alone now that he was literally a demon, and let alone to a fucking angel. But in the moment, it did seem like the right choice of words. Plus, the angel did seem less sad. Not that Crawly cared about it, of course.

"I supposed you wouldn't" the blond angel weakly smiled at him.

To say that Crawly didn't know how to react to that smile would be a lie. He did react back then. The demon simply nodded to him and abandoned the cave, leaving the angel and all his positive thoughts about Heaven behind. As soon as he came across another angel, the demon quickly realized that he wouldn't be that lucky ever again, so he kept on fighting as if nothing really mattered.

It wasn't until the battle ended, a few days later, that he found himself thinking about that weird angel that healed him and smiled at him as if he was still an angel. Hell had lost, but another war was coming -in 6000 years though-, but the idea of the existence of at least an angel worthy of living was eating him alive. What if he had been right? What if the angel had been killed the next day? What if another demon found him in that cave and murdered him in a moment of weakness? Crawly would never forgive himself if that had happened.

'_I supposed you wouldn't'._ Those words didn't have a direct effect on Crawly. He let them be, let them just pass by him as if they didn't mean anything, but they slowly began to consume him until the matter at hand was unbearable.

The thing was, just as that angel was different, that experience also showed Crawly something he had wanted to ignore for a long time: he was also different himself. Any other demon would've seen that as a perfect opportunity to murder the angel. Anyone in Hell would've loved to have a chance like that. It hurt him to realize that anybody would've killed the angel and made fun of his kindness later on. Not only that, but that angel was a Principality, and anybody capable of destroying one was worthy of praising in Hell. Instead of 6000 of peace and a promotion, Crawly kept that encounter close to his heart. It was a little secret that filled him with the peaceful hope that perhaps Heaven did deserve to win after all, because they were better. Also, a deep part of him was hoping to meet that angel again, though he probably wouldn't talk to him or show any sign of kindness. After all, Hell did lose: there was no reason for him to be nice anymore.

Crawly almost shrieked in surprise when he saw the same angel a few months later, when he got the job of making trouble in the Garden of Eden. The warmth came back and he felt too relieved to see him alive that he was starting to seriously worry about his actual situation. He had seen the way the rest of the demons looked at the angels after the war. Their eyes were filled with even more hatred than before. Demons hated every little single thing about angels with their entire essence. To be honest, Crawly simply didn't give a fuck about them. He had chosen Hell for some reason; he truly believed Heaven was some sort of Hell façade. Where other demons had envy, Crawly just shrugged and hoped to find a new thing to do to distract his active mind.

But when the blue-eyed angel that was in charge of guarding the Eastern Gate came into the matter, well, he was pretty much… a mess. The demon simply was amazed by every little thing the angel did. The way he cared about the different creatures in Eden, as he truly cared about them, not as he was just some kind of automatic fighter who could only stand in a war position. The angel smiled with genuine interest every time a squirrel would pass by him, he would gently pet a deer and feed him if necessarily with his bright eyes full of... love. That was it. That angel truly loved everything, with every little fiber of his body. And Crawly couldn't get sick of it. He adored it.

This behavior wasn't something Crawly was proud of, but it wasn't until the fifth day since Adam and Eve had arrived to the garden that Crawly realized that perhaps that little obsession with the blue-eyed angel was getting out of hand.

Crawly was hiding inside of a hollow tree, staring at the Garden in the darkness, as he had been doing for the last few days. No one had seen him yet and he was trying really hard not to freak out over the fact that he didn't have an evil plan in mind yet.

Adam and Eve were sat side by side smiling brightly at each other. This wasn't something new. They had been acting like that since they first met, though Crawly couldn't completely understand why. Humans were too weird. They were just… eh… bland. No powers, no immortality, not really good or bad either. Why the fuck were they so important to God in the first place?

Crawly rolled his eyes at them as they shared a laugh. Then, Adam slowly extended a hand up to Eve's cheek. The snake's curiosity suddenly kicked in and he started to lean in closer to the small aperture in the tree that allowed him to watch them. Eve seemed a little confused at that, she first clinched away actually. But Adam's hand was firm and Eve slowly leaned into him. The memory of the angel holding his face in the exact same way as Adam was holding Eve's made Crawly gasp. He wanted to look away from them, wanted that warm feeling inside of him to stop, but as he looked up he was astonished to find the blue-eyed angel staring at the humans with the same shock. As if it wasn't terrifying enough, Adam and Eve got even closer to each other, crushing each other's lips.

As Crawly's imaginative mind came up with the image of the angel and himself crushing each other's lips, Crawly decided that he just couldn't bare it anymore and quickly went back to Hell.

It was easy to realize that something was… off. Something wasn't normal. Demons do not daydream about touching an angel's lips. Let alone, feel… things that weren't negative about it. In fact, demons dreamt about tearing angels' limbs one by one. Moreover that, this was the second time they both were sent to basically oppose each other, and instead of hating his obvious nemesis, he just wanted to spend another evening stuck in a cave and staring at his blue eyes before crushing his lips against him. It was suffocating. He didn't even know what kissing was and he wanted to try it the next time he could talk to the angel.

Hastur noticed his presence and stared at him with his usual disgust. Crawly was too tired for that usual shit. He needed to know something before he could even fulfill his daily report on the Garden of Eden. "What's the name of that angel?" the demon asked suddenly without even hesitating.

Hastur looked openly confused at that question. "Angel?"

"Yeah, the blond one. The one in charge of guarding the Eastern Gate" Crawly continued, ignoring the curious eyes of Hastur inspecting him.

"Why do you wanna know? Thinking about killing him?"

The blood in Crawly's body freeze all of a sudden. 'Never' he wanted to answer, but he couldn't. He couldn't be honest with Hell, that's something he had learned a long time ago. He couldn't be honest with anyone. "I don't know, just in case he doesn't let me work, I'd like to know his name. That scares angels" Bullshit. He just wanted to put a name to that face he kept thinking about. Why couldn't he just say it? Why wouldn't he mind his own business?

"That's the Principality. Aziraphale. He's the angel meant to thwart you"

Crawly resisted a chuckle before leaving Hastur's side. He had heard of that before. Some angels and demons were literally meant to be each other's opposites. After the War, the rumor of some angels exclusively working against some demons had been expending in Hell. Crawly didn't use to believe it, but if any angel was meant to be his opponent, he could've bet it was going to be Aziraphale.

He stopped in his track. Aziraphale. It fit him. And also… it was somehow familiar? Aziraphale. It sounded almost as heavenly as his blue eyes and his blonde hair. Fuck. He needed to get his job with the Garden of Eden over as soon as he could. The inexplicable need of talking to him again was becoming increasingly unbearable as the days went by.

By the seventh day, Crawly was already done with his job. It only took them one bite. Literally. He convinced the humans to take a bite of an apple tree that was forbidden. It was a little bit unsettling how well thought-out his existence was. He crawled his way through Heaven, turned into a biting snake and ended up creating the original sin by getting the humans to bite an apple as red as his hair.

He hated the idea, though. The thought of having his entire existence planned out to be just a sinner snake was so upsetting he stopped hiding from Aziraphale. It didn't matter if the angel didn't even remember him. He needed… some sort of… comfort right now.

Aziraphale was staring at the two distant figures of Adam and Eve from above the Eastern Gate. He had just given away his flaming sword to the humans. _Oh, God, he had just given away his flaming sword to humans_. The idea of being a pretty bad angel had started to kick in since he healed a demon in the battlefield some months ago. He was afraid to confirm it as he decided to give his sword away. Also, he hadn't even seen the supposed demon that was capable of getting inside of the Garden and tempting the humans. The angel wondered how his adversary was. Either way, they were clever and despicable.

You could imagine the angel's face as he saw the snake he had healed in the middle of the war slither and turn into his more angelic form beside him. Aziraphale inspected him a few times, but there was no doubt that he was the same demon he had met in the war. There was also no doubt that he had been indeed the demon responsible for the whole apple fiasco. The Principality looked away, a little ashamed to think that he had had the opportunity to kill him but decided to heal him instead.

He wasn't good at his job as an angel indeed.

"Well, that went down like a lead balloon" Crawly said trying to sound as little interested in the angel as possible.

Aziraphale had no idea about what the demon was talking about. But he didn't have any intention of looking like a fool again, so he just smiled at him and nodded. But then, he frowned, realizing that perhaps it was important to actually be in the same level as the demon. "Sorry, what was that?"

The demon sighed. "I said that went down like a lead balloon" he repeated, but with a calmer voice, trying to pronounce the words correctly and without any hiss. The angel seemed a little different than last time. He seemed a bit… upset. Right, Crawly remembered that he had basically ruined his only job since he was sent to Earth.

So, Crawly kept on speaking about how he thought that banishing Adam and Eve was an exaggeration or, even worse, it was what God actually wanted all along. He wasn't usually so sincere but Aziraphale had showed to doubt as much as he did about the 'Great Plan'. One would think that demons actually doubted God's intentions as well but no. Since they fell the only thing on their mind has been doing evil deeds out of wrath or envy or greed. They didn't seek comprehension; they just wanted to prove themselves, to get revenge of Heaven.

Aziraphale listened to his demon adversary with clear attention. Deep down, he knew the demon had a point. He wouldn't admit it out loud though. After all, the demon had literally infiltrated in the garden, tempted the humans and caused their exile. Not even an angel would try to keep on chatting with that specific demon. The angel then decided to make Heaven proud as he began to explain the ineffable plan to his acquaintance. He was so emerged in finding the right words, in proclaiming how the ineffable plan was not meant for anybody moreover God herself to understand, that he didn't notice the confused stare that Crawly -he had finally learned the demon's name- shot at him.

"Didn't you have a flaming sword?" Crawly intrigued all of a sudden making the angel stammer. Aziraphale truly disliked the idea of showing his incompetence to that demon again. He tried to shrug it off, to shake his head, as if it didn't really matter but the demon insisted. "You did, it was flaming like anything. What happened to it?"

The angel refused to meet the demon's eyes. He refused to give him another reason for them to shine ever again. So, he kept hesitating.

"Lost it already, haven't you?"

That was quite enough. Of course, Aziraphale wasn't the best angel but even he couldn't be that irresponsible. For all that is worth, giving his sword to the humans was a deliberate choice he made on his own. He knew it wasn't what he was ought to do, but he knew that if he was Adam, he'd be grateful for eternity.

"I gave it away…" the angel mumbled.

Crawly's façade of little interest in the blue-eyed angel dropped with four words. He couldn't help himself but grin as an idiot. "You what?!"

"I GAVE IT AWAY!" Aziraphale exclaimed in clear panic before he frantically started to give the red-haired demon by his side different reasons why he had done so.

Crawly stared at the angel, his grin untouched. Even though he wasn't so used to blinking, he blinked once slowly, as a reminder of the fact that it was happening. It was incredible, worth worshipping to be honest. Aziraphale wasn't only kind out of pity, as he once suspected. But he was also kind to everyone in every way. Love guided his actions rather than blind faith or obedience. The burning warmth started to grow in his stomach as the angel kept on rambling. Said angel seemed too tense to notice the way the demon was looking at him, though.

"I do hope I didn't do the wrong thing" Aziraphale ended up saying, concern filling up his voice. He sounded a little scared too. Not for himself though, and that made Crawly admire him even more.

There it was again. The inexplicable need to comfort the angel's insecurities appeared so fast that no inner voice could've stopped it. "Oh, you're an angel. I don't think you can do the wrong thing".

Aziraphale smiled so brightly that he was eradiating light, putting the sun into shame. Crawly couldn't even regret having said something so shamelessly kind because the angel's face full of happiness was worth it. It was the first time he saw the angel smiling in that way. Or not. An image of the same Aziraphale smiling at him appeared in his mind. It was almost the same situation, except for the background. He was in Heaven.

Crawly blinked a few times and tried to ignore that weird thought. Many millennia later he'd said it was a déjà vu. Perhaps he had imagined that smile too many times that his mind just couldn't handle it. Or maybe… just maybe… that was something else. It did feel familiar. Too familiar. It always had felt familiar. Being beside Aziraphale had always felt so unrealistically natural.

He should've suspected it sooner, one could say. But the demon had too many thoughts in his mind to focus on that little event. Firstly, he had to figure out what was that weird warm feeling that was getting over him as it started raining and he got automatically closer to Aziraphale, only to be received by a raised wing above his head protecting him from the rain.


	2. Two Brothers and the First Murderer

**Chapter 2: Two Brothers and the First Murderer**

Fortunately for Heaven and Hell's usual boredom -that would lead for both sides to argue-, the humans managed to survive outside of Eden. They were creatures incredibly easy to adapt to new changes, to the point that the male and the female had healthy children in spite of every negative prediction from Crawly and every concerned thought from Aziraphale. Angels became more and more interested in those new creatures that were supposed to guide the new era for the next 6000 years. And, once they were exiled from the Garden, even the demons were interested in their apparent ability to make choices, make mistakes with grave consequences and still not being completely evil afterwards.

The view of the world for the occult and ethereal creatures was slowly changing, especially with how beautiful those creatures were; how evil; how kind. And, once Eve gave born to Cain, they were also surprised to see their ability to create another life such as their own. Angels could create stars, plants, animals… but another angel? No, never. Let alone demons whose only abilities consisted on destroying, not creating.

"They're still… killing animals?" the black serpent appeared out of nowhere, behind one of the wings of the Principality.

Of course, no matter how everybody upstairs and downstairs seemed to be highly interested on humans, there was only one representative of each side actually on the field.

"I believe it they call it 'hunting'" Aziraphale explained vaguely, not even looking away from the scene in front of him: the two eldest children of Adam and Eve were currently trying to kill a small deer that was lying on the ground with a deep wound on its stomach.

Cain was bearing the flaming sword that Adam reluctantly would lend him when the brothers would go hunting. Despite the blood and the crying of the hurt animal, the older sibling wouldn't dare to give the crying creature the last strike, and the younger boy seemed irritated by that.

"They need to do this in order to eat" the blond angel continued, though he looked away at the scene once Abel finally grabbed the sword and buried it on the deer's side. "After all, they're not allowed in the garden anymore"

Crawly could notice the underlying tone. '_They're not allowed in the garden anymore'_ the blue-eyed being had said, leaving the obvious _'because of you'_ behind. The demon wondered if Aziraphale would ever leave that little incident behind too. He sighed internally as he leaned on his companion's shoulder. The warmth of the angel would always calm his nerves, feeling worryingly comfortable and in peace. There wasn't much to think of their proximity, for Crawly's dislike, as it was actually nothing more than a business deal.

The thing was that Crawly had strict orders from Hell to keep on tempting the humans, but every time any of the humans would notice his presence, they would try to do the same thing they did to that harmless deer. Apparently, humans didn't exactly appreciate his work regarding the Tree of Knowledge.

Not surprisingly enough, Aziraphale had also received orders to keep an eye on the mortals. What for? He had no idea. And he also suspected that Aziraphale didn't either. He had once dared to ask the Principality his intentions with the humans now that they had been disgraced and exiled and, basically, corrupted. The blond male presenting being simply answered 'I'm ought to guide them towards the right path'. Crawly resisted a chuckle back then just for the sake of the poor angel -although he was pretty certain that no one knew what the right path was at that point-.

"I'm here to tempt them" Crawly had lazily explained. "Between you and me, anything's better than staying in the dump that Hell is"

Aziraphale hummed. "Heaven is not that interesting either" he admitted too naturally before wide opening his eyes on realization. "I mean, it is interesting. That is- it _is_ Heaven after all, everything happens there. Everything is wonderful…" he started with a vague movement of his hand. "And… perfect" he frowned thoughtfully. "And good… and white… and-"

"Dull" Crawly finished with a smirk. Aziraphale seemed scandalized, though, he noticed with interest, the angel didn't correct him. He sat beside him under a pear tree. "No pear trees to hide from the sunlight in Heaven for starters"

"No snakes either" the fair-haired answered with an irritated roll of eyes.

The red-haired stared a bit shocked at that remark, a bit surprised and impressed to see an Angel of the Lord capable of saying something rather sassy. The shock was replaced by a glint of malice in his reptile eyes as he grinned. "Say what you like, angel. I know you find my company rather…" he leaned in closer to the other being's face. The latter didn't even flinch, though his hazel blue eyes began moving like crazy, inspecting, almost devouring, his face entirely at least five times. "Pleassant" he hissed, letting his tongue out for the angel to see, as a reminder of the fact that even conversing with a demon was still being beside a demon, a not very angelical habit that Aziraphale was apparently getting after so many months of basically bumping into each other over and over again.

There was something incredibly annoying about Crawly, Aziraphale was starting to conclude. Something incredibly, utterly, intoxicatingly annoying about him that made the angel act in ways Heaven would scold. "Not as pleasant as the humans find you though. I particularly enjoyed that one time when Adam saw you in your snake form, grabbed a stick and-"

The demon blushed before pushing himself away. Aziraphale's hands quickly clenched at that reaction. His corporation would suddenly feel lighter, his entire soul filled with a satisfaction he had never felt in the past before. And a satisfaction a part of him knew that he wasn't meant to feel in the first place. However, it was a bit concerning how Crawly caused Aziraphale to act in ways the angel secretly enjoyed too much despite his own sake. "You don't- how could you… just, you don't know if that wasn't actually part of some evil plan of mine, huh? Maybe I was tempting them into hurting someone!"

The blond being chuckled at that. "Oh, dear, Adam did definitely end up missing and hitting on a honeycomb instead!" he laughed at the human's distress, making Crawly weirdly dizzy in a good way, thing that happened too frequently when he was around that angel. The demon still couldn't find an explanation for his body's reaction. Maybe it was out of the joy of realizing how bad of an influence he was to Aziraphale already. _No, you're not_; his inner voice would provide him ruining his mood again.

The demonic creature of pure darkness definitely didn't pout before folding his arms like a spoiled kid. "Oh, oh, you saw that and didn't do anything? How holily…"

It was the angel's turn to blush. Aziraphale simply shrugged, though he did consider answering with the fact that he had been in fact the reason why Adam missed that hit and the punishment for trying to hurt the snake had been more than premeditated. "I was certain that everybody would get what they deserved out of that situation in the end, as always She's watching" he fiddled with his golden ring anxiously, trying to forget his last awkward conversation with The Almighty. He glanced at his seemingly evil companion, who was rolling his eyes. "I could help you" he said before thinking –another great thing he tended to do whenever the demon was too close-. Crawly tensed up at hearing those words and arched an eyebrow in interest. "That is to say… I could help you camouflage so the humans won't attack you" the angel tried hard not to smile at the huge grin Crawly was all of a sudden wearing. "I'd definitely do it to keep an eye on you, of course. To thwart you, so technically I'd be helping Heaven and helping Adam to not have any more blood on his hands"

That was a lie. A huge obvious, flaming, adorable lie that made Crawly bit his lower lip to conceal a smirk. _You care a bit about me?_ "Of course, it'd be for both our offices' sakes. Just busssinesss" Crawly agreed.

And if he turned into a snake more than usually and tangled himself in the angel's back under his clothes to feel the warmth of his soft porcelain skin, then that was just a hazard of their agreement.

That was the position they were currently, as they stared at the brothers' daily routine. Cain quickly tended back to his plants, the ones he had been carefully caring since he had turned 7, as he found the job quite relaxing. Crawly wouldn't understand how a couple of greens would calm that kid down, as he usually was a wild spoiled brat.

The snake sank his head even deeper in the shoulder of the angel. Satan, he could bet that Aziraphale's body was way more comfy than clouds and feathers together. The last few years since their mutual truce had met him with all the kindness, softness and comfort he thought he'd never see again since he fell. Crawly snorted internally, imagining the outraged face Aziraphale would make if he could hear his thoughts and how he was basically calling him the perfect living pillow. His golden eyes saw how Abel began to kill some of his lambs and, with a groan; he decided to close his eyes, as there was nothing really interesting to see. Huh, Aziraphale's shoulder was even comfier in that way…

"Huh, that's queer" the blond being said as he noticed Abel making an offering to God made of the best animals of his flock. Aziraphale turned to the snake, whose eyes were closed. "Eh, Crawly?" he asked in a louder manner but the snake didn't even flinch at that. The Principality raised his hand just enough to be in front of the demon's head. No, his corporation was in perfect conditions. He was definitely alive. "Crawly?" he called again. If the angel didn't know better, he'd say the demon was… oh, how was the word? Sleeping! That's it! The male presenting being frowned. Angels and demons weren't supposed to sleep at all. Just like they weren't supposed to eat or breathe. Those were actions humans were meant to do in order to survive. In opposition to humans, they didn't need any of that, so of course they didn't do it. What was the use of acting without need? And… how would something like that feel? Doing something just… because? Not even humans did that! A small sting of fear hit him as he looked at the sides, making sure no one was seeing them. The last thing he wanted was Crawly to get in trouble for something as ridiculous as sleeping while on duty-

"Angel of the Lord" Abel called startling the Principality.

"NO ONE'S SLEEPING!" Aziraphale exclaimed furiously, earning a confused glare from the two brothers who were staring at him with curious eyes. "I mean, of course no one's… eh, sleeping, we do not sleep, and with 'we' I mean 'the angels', not 'we' as if there was someone else here with me, obviously" he laughed nervously, his whole body tensing up.

Crawly sensed his comfy pillow turning into a giant ball of anxiety. "Oi, count to ten and chill…" he mumbled before he wide opened his eyes in shock and alarm. He had just momentarily, stopped thinking completely, being extremely vulnerable and… relaxed… and warm… and with Aziraphale's smell overwhelming him entirely… it had felt rather good. The world stopped mattering for a second and even his inner demon hadn't bothered him. Was that what humans felt when they slept? In that case, he was pretty sure they definitely did it for more than just energizing! He felt great!

"We wanted to make you a question, Lord, if it's not bother" the recognizable voice of Abel was heard and Crawly moved in between the white feathers that were covering him to show himself.

"It's actually a bit… stupid" Cain admitted flustered. "But Abel had this great idea to make an offering to God" he explained shyly. "And we'd like to know which one you like the most"

Crawly could feel Aziraphale tense even more at that. It confused him why a small decision as that one would make him so upset, though the angel followed the young boys anyway. "Everything alright up there?" the snake whispered into his ear.

He sounded a bit worried, so the blond resolved to simply wave it off. "Everything's alright. It's just… well, I'm not God to choose" he chuckled nervously. The angel was slowly forgetting how many lies he had told since he lied to The Lord about his sword. And that was no the exception, but he was slowly realizing than lying helped with his little problem regarding his extreme sensitive corporation. He couldn't stop feeling that myriad of emotions, so lying seemed to be the only possible way for him to actually be a good unexpressive angel for a change.

The siblings showed him two holocausts, one filled with dead exquisite animals, while the other filled with different fruits and vegetables from all shapes and colors. He didn't need to be the most rational being to recognize which holocaust belonged to whom. "Oh, you both did a marvelous job indeed" the fair-haired complimented with a kind smile.

"Yeah, but angels don't really eat" Crawly said loud enough for the boys to hear for Aziraphale's dismay.

Their first reaction was to gasp in astonishment and glancing at each other before facing the winged being again. "Angel of the Lord... we… there is a... a snake in your shoulder, a charming charlatan as our parents warned us" Cain stated with a frown. "We've been punished because of it"

Crawly and Aziraphale got sick of talking about the apple incident. They would never agree in anything but the fact that it hadn't been Crawly's direct fault. The serpent gave them a choice, sure maybe he was a bit insistent on the matter, but he didn't put the apple on their mouths. Adam and Eve knew it was against God's orders. They earned their exile themselves. Maybe God should've been more opened about the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit? It was a possibility. Perhaps Aziraphale should've been more careful about the creatures in the garden? Definitely. But was it Crawly the one who made them bite it? No, he just tempted them, thus his job. Who the fuck listens to a creepy and suspicious black serpent anyways? He didn't even need a lot to convince Eve, the poor girl was definitely bored and had thought about eating the apple way more than what she would dare to admit.

Crawly was about to point out all this, but was unexpectedly defended by the angel. "Well, now, I didn't know your parent lied" he reposed with a polite but cold smile. "Snakes are not responsible for that"

"That snake is" Abel reposed with a frightened but still angry tone.

"No one is completely responsible for that" Aziraphale continued with warm temperance. "He's a demon, evil creatures, you're not ought to listen to the evil ones. And your parents did"

Cain was the one to arch an eyebrow at that. "And are angels ought to listen to them?"

Crawly wanted to chuckle, the simple image of Aziraphale actually doing anything he told him to do was a rather amusing image to depict. In any case, _he_ was the one usually getting lectured about how tight he was tangling himself against his body even though the angel didn't need the pulse. If he ever got to tempt Aziraphale, then he'd go from being the worst to the best demon in Hell. The blond being had the right combination of rightness and consciousness to actually do things for himself, not for Hell or Heaven, but because he thought it was right. And in the name of the Devil… Crawly fucking adored that about him.

Aziraphale's patience was starting to vanish as he glared at the boy. "Angels are ought to be kind and listen to everybody" he explained coldly before turning his attention to the offerings without saying another word. He inspected them vaguely, and even with just a glance, the angel was able to feel all the love and effort put into both holocausts. Aziraphale wasn't really used to making choices, and he had zero knowledge regarding food. But he didn't have the heart to refuse the honor of judging their work. "I can't really just… pick one, my boys. They're both such wonderful jobs and-"

"You could taste them!" Abel proposed, handing Aziraphale a piece of roasted meat.

"Great idea, Ab!" his brother agreed before taking a pear and handing it to the angel too. "I saw how you were sat under that pear tree! I bet you'd like mines more!"

The snake chuckled so hard he received a deathly glare from his companion. Angels didn't eat, he laughed, but he knew that the poor blue-eyed fool wouldn't be able to say no to those two little humans with bright pleading eyes. And so he watched how Aziraphale grabbed the pear reluctantly. Crawly bit his own tongue to stop laughing at the way the Principality would look at the sides, in desperation, looking for some sort of distraction to help him out of that situation. He even dared to look at him, begging for some mercy, making the reptile almost give in, though luckily enough, Aziraphale shook his head and looked at the fruit in his hands again. The angel sighed before taking the fruit to the border of his rosy lips. The demon could feel him trembling and saw the way his eyes closed furiously, as if he didn't want to see for himself how he was about to fill his celestial body with human trash. Crawly, on the other hand, couldn't even blink at the tension of Aziraphale opening his mouth and biting into the fruit, dropping its juice all over his lips and jaw.

In the future, Crawly would always be thankful for being present in that moment, that moment in which something changed inside Aziraphale. How could he know that what started as a joke would turn into one of the most crucial moments in the life of Aziraphale? He didn't even suspect that possibility. To be honest, Crawly was expecting the angel to spit the fruit, or even choking on it. What he got was completely different, but way more interesting.

The snake's smirk began to slowly disappear as he noticed how the disgust in Aziraphale's face was quickly declining as he kept on chewing on the fruit. His hazel blue eyes wide opened dramatically, shinning more than the stars as he looked down at the bitten fruit in his hands. He was shocked, frozen and utterly speechless at what he had just tasted. Crawly realized that the unexplainable had happened as the blond being quickly took a second bite of the pear: Aziraphale _liked it_. The blue-eyed angel was literally wiggling in delight as he chewed and tasted and swallowed and made weird noises at the food. And shit, Crawly liked how much Aziraphale liked that pathetic pear. He liked it, and hated it, as he had never looked at Crawly the way he was looking at that pear. Not that he cared of course.

"Oh, Lord… that was… delightful" Aziraphale reposed after finishing the fruit. He had only heard bad reviews about human food in the past. Especially from angels like Gabriel, who distrusted in anything remotely human, but the truth was that eating was an extraordinary experience. There were just so many sensations tingling in his mouth, the sweetness of the pear, its juicy inside, the freshness that kept on lingering on his throat after swallowing it. "

"Try mine now!" Abel exclaimed enthusiastically.

This time, Aziraphale didn't need to be told twice as he guided the meat on his mouth and bit it without further issue. And oh, everything felt so different. This piece of food gave him more satisfaction, had no sweetness in it but still was completely delicious, warm and inviting. His eyes shone at realizing that one same action could bring him such different experiences. The reason why humans didn't just eat anything but rather took their time was revealed to him: food was definitely something to make a ritual out of it. He glanced at Crawly, who wasn't even mocking at him anymore. He seemed just as surprised as he was by the new discovery, and Aziraphale couldn't help a small blush. The angel suddenly understood why humanity fell for a bite, and he secretly decided to try an apple next, just to see how much of it had been worth it.

"So, who's better, Lord?" Abel asked interrupting his little moment of trance.

"I beg your pardon?" the Principality asked back, a bit confused.

"Which one of the two deserves the blessing from God?" Cain pressed on anxiously.

Aziraphale stared at them and then glanced back to the offerings. He smiled, having picked his decision. "Both" he decided with a kind smile. "You both deserve it".

That answer didn't satisfy the brothers, who groaned in frustration. Cain arched an eyebrow. "What about you, snake?"

"Yes, demon, who deserves the blessing?" Abel added.

Crawly wide opened his eyes in surprise. He couldn't remember the last time someone asked his opinion on something… how bad he didn't really care about them. "None" the reptile replied wishing for nothing more than just to be left alone to feed Aziraphale an apple. Or a grape. Or a pomegranate. Or his own lips. "None of you deserve it" he decided.

Raining was usually accompanied by bad news. It had been since the first time it rained when the humans were obligated to leave Eden. The only good thing about raining, in Crawly's opinion, was to have another excuse to cuddle closer against Aziraphale's gentle feathers, claiming that his cold body needed the warmth, which was true, but it was also a deliberate excuse he feared Aziraphale would find out some day. With that goal in mind, the demon walked through the now quiet garden that once was filled with laughter, with careless footsteps and teasing arguments that could be only be shared between brothers. The red-haired sighed, a heavy pain in his chest, as he walked past Abel's grave. He had been the first human to die, and in such a revolting way too. Crawly didn't particularly take a liking to the kid, but he did watch him grow, alongside Aziraphale. The boys would also talk to them whenever they could, and they would talk about them too. The demon felt somehow in debt with them, and was ultimately surprised when Adam attacked him that morning, claiming that he had tempted Cain into it. Unfortunately, his favorite angel was nowhere around to stick up for him. The blond being hadn't even visited the grave yet.

In fact, Aziraphale just stood sitting in front of the siblings' holocausts since he heard the tragic news that morning. Crawly felt peculiarly nervous about that strange behavior in the fair-haired. The angel was just staring at them, with unblinking and exhausted eyes as the rain kept on falling on his fluffy blond curls. His face wasn't as soft as it usually would be, a familiar darkness crippling his tender eyes. And Crawly wished he knew what to say, he desperately wanted to give him some sort of comfort, but he had no idea about how to do that. Demons would only deepen the torture, not lessen it.

"Quite a funeral, pity you missed it" he tried before realizing how stupid he must have sounded. "Everyone was so… eh… respectful about God" he snorted. "Even though She's definitely to blame"

Aziraphale turned his head to face him. He was staring with a scandalized but hurt expression. Crawly took it as a victory though, as he at the very least _moved_, meaning that no matter how distressed the angel may be in the present, it wouldn't last forever. Aziraphale wide opened his eyes in shock, almost as he realized that he had indeed moved after hours only because Crawly provoked him. Yes, there was something incredibly annoying about Crawly. Something so annoying that put him out of his inner mourning for a moment with only one sentence.

The ethereal being looked down, fiddling with his fingers on his lap. "Crawly, can you not?" he asked with a thin voice. "Just, not more… moral arguments for the day, could you do that for me?"

It was pathetic how he was already bringing that argument just for him to have some sort of reaction. The demon then rolled his eyes and nodded before sitting by his side. A part of him was actually expecting the angel to stand up and leave him alone. But of course Aziraphale never did the logical thing that anybody else would've done, so he just stayed in his place. The angel stopped staring at the offerings in front of him to stare at him instead. The Principality's focus on him deepened as he lingered his blue eyes all over his face, as if he was trying to remember every single feature of his sharp face.

"What happened to your cheek?" he eventually asked, softly but not as gloomy as before.

In the commotion, Crawly had forgotten about the small fact that Adam had finally reached him and cut his cheek when he was in snake form during the funeral. He raised his hand to his cheek and realized that there was a glint of a small cut there, though it wasn't bleeding anymore. Thank Satan, otherwise he would've presented himself in front of Aziraphale covered in blood, just like the injured demon he already was.

"Adam" the ginger tilted his head amusingly. "Gotta give it to him, the bastard is persistent, finally caught me"

A small flick of darkness crossed the angel's eyes, the guilt of realizing that he hadn't been protecting Crawly, neglecting their arrangement for grieving the tragedy they had just witnessed. It probably was hard for the demon too, though he wasn't showing it of course, but there might have been a reason why he'd risked going to funeral in spite of the hatred the parents shared for him.

No one from Heaven came to give their condolences. No one from Hell came to congratulate the first -of many to come- murderer either. Aziraphale sighed shakily at realizing, once again, that it seemed that he was alone with Crawly in the world. He had always felt rather different than the rest of his supposed siblings. And he knew that Crawly was different from his family too. They were the outcasts from their own world, trying to fit into a new one. How could anybody expect them not to interact? Not to try to have some sort of civilized relationship as they were about to spend the next 6000 years probably bumping into each other constantly?

"Does it hurt? I've always wondered if demons actually enjoyed the pain…" Aziraphale started trying to relax his arms.

Crawly wide opened his eyes at that, before laughing. The blond being stared confused at his companion's amused expression before giving into that contagious dramatic laughter himself. "Oh, Heaven's getting less and less creative by the hour" the red-haired chuckled.

"Right… so, you don't particularly enjoy it?" Aziraphale continued with his kind tone on.

"Nope" the demon sighed. "We rather- I mean, you get used to it, pain, after suffering so much you're just more resistant to it, but it's not less painful" he shook his head, deciding not to say certain things such as how nothing will ever hurt more than falling, and all the traumas that came with it. _You can't trust him_, his inner voice reminded, though it did sound a tad unsure about it, almost as if it secretly wished he could trust him.

"Let me help then?" Aziraphale asked him softly after staring at him with seemed to be certain sadness. In fact, there was something rather gloomy about that angel in particular, as if his blue eyes were haunted by a constant anguish.

Crawly shook his head once the thoughts started to become too personal. "Healing your enemy twice, angel? Is that even allowed?"

_It's probably besides 'giving your only weapon away' and 'enjoying your enemy's company'_, Aziraphale bitterly thought before raising his hand and cupping his companion's cheek, as he once did in the past, many years ago in that dark cave hidden from war shrieks. As always, the demon's touched felt lovely under his palm. Aziraphale tried hard to hide how much he enjoyed that little warmth that appeared in his chest whenever he got to be as close to the demon as he was in that moment. His spirit felt already better, his cheeks felt warmer and the way Crawly was clearly leaning into the touch as the healing began made his mouth twist into a soft smile. He bit his lower lip at thinking of how adorable the serpent of Eden looked.

_We're enjoying it too much_. Crawly stared at his seeming guardian angel with an arched eyebrow. Of course _he _enjoyed the touch too much. Would you actually expect Hell to be kind? Or warm? Or soft? No, everything there was chaos, mess, pain… the only touches allowed ended up in torture either physical or psychological, and Crawly had chosen his boring solitude just in order to never have to deal with it. Aziraphale's touch, on the other hand was… glorious. Of course his touch probably meant nothing for the angel though. _You mean nothing to him._

The red-haired frowned. "Is this some sort of common behavior for you?" Crawly intrigued Aziraphale, almost in an accusing tone.

Aziraphale let his hand fall. "What?" the fear of being caught or mocked over his unreasonable care for Crawly made his face fell down too.

Crawly grabbed his left hand and raised it to the level of his eyes, inspecting it. "You… this isn't the first time you hold me like this" the hand was extremely soft and warm. The more the demon stared at it, the more he wished to touch it. It made him feel safe, protected and, somehow, accepted. It represented everything his hand didn't, there was no cold or dirt or blood on those angelic hands. Aziraphale's hands were made for tenderness, kindness and love; all things Crawly knew he could never have. Evil wasn't meant to long for those traits. Still, the angel hand's touch haunted him daily and nightly. "Do you do it with everyone?"

The angel's cheeks suddenly gained color. They turned redder and his eyes started to wander off, desperate to find something else to stare at. "I… can't recall" he lied, though Crawly didn't need to know that. Admitting that he never even touched another being moreover Crawly would be enough to make the demon realize that he probably had a soft spot for him. Especially since he actually liked it, he adored the way the demon's coldness collided with his own warmth. "I won't do it again if it bothers you"

The red-haired wide opened his eyes at that. A flash of horror could be distinguished in his eyes. He quickly pushed Aziraphale closer to his side. "No!" he exclaimed a tad desperately. The demon coughed a few times, trying to regain his composure. "I mean, it doesn't really bother me" Crawly finished with a snort. "It's just- ha… didn't know angels could… touch other demons in such a fond little way" he finished with a smirk.

_I didn't know demons could be this annoyingly indecent either_. "It's not surprising news that we, angels, are meant to help every being in existence" Aziraphale stated as a matter of fact.

And he even rolled his eyes at pronouncing that made-up Heaven propaganda, fussy little thing he was. Oh, Crawly wanted to touch him everywhere indeed whenever he acted like a spoiled sassy jerk ready to lecture you for coming late to his harp's concert. "Well, yeah, but that's what they say" his smirk grew a size at noticing the scandalized look on the angel. "And we all exaggerate a bit when it comes to advertising, but I don't think it's the holy true, angel. I mean, if that were true then everything that's said about demons should be true then"

The blue-eyed being raised an eyebrow. He seemed almost interest at that confession. "And it isn't?"

"Aziraphale, Heaven thinks we spit fire and have pointy tails, of course it isn't!" Crawly exclaimed with an irritated tone, probably more upset about those rumors that he depicted himself to be.

The angel softened. Aziraphale knew he had a point. To be honest, when he first met Crawly he was pleasantly surprised to find out that most of the things Heaven had told him about demons were hideous lies to hide a devastating truth: they weren't so different really. Both species were from the same pack to begin with. Though, there were a few rumors that he still hadn't figured out the whole truth of yet. "Do you hate everybody?" Aziraphale questioned cautiously. His companion had never truly opened up to him about frivolous things such as feelings in the past and there was a huge possibility that he wouldn't do it now but it was still worth a try. Aziraphale had to- no, _wanted_ to know if that part was also made out. He had a hard time believing that someone with that spark of passion and charm inside wasn't capable of positive emotions like tolerance, or solidarity, or love.

Crawly wasn't completely sure about how to answer that. He hated many people. He hated God, hated his shitface boss, hated his harassing demon colleagues, hated Heaven and, most important of all, he hated himself. But everybody? Nah, that was a waste of time if you asked him. "Haven't really met everybody" he finally answered, looking down for a second.

Aziraphale wasn't satisfied at all with that ambiguous answer. He would usually let it go, as the demon was clearly trying to avoid a direct answer, but he doubted getting another opportunity in the future. "Do you hate me?!" he blurted out, leaving every self-control behind, asking the real question he wanted answered.

The demon looked up astonished. That… he couldn't answer that. He couldn't- _shit, he actually looks upset about it_. Great, even his inner demon suddenly decided that he didn't want to see the angel sad. Oh, for Satan's sake, he had no idea about what he felt towards him. It was weird, and tingly and confusing and made him embarrassed for some reason. But it definitely wasn't hate. After all, you don't look for excuses to cuddle or touch the people you hated. "I mean… hate is like- uh… a lot, angel" were those fucking tears on Aziraphale's eyes?! "Of course I don't _hate_ you"

Aziraphale's sad face brightened up extremely fast. "You don't?"

"Eh, no. I think I'm getting used to you, who knows?" he bit his lip, looking for any possible excuse to disappear for the next decades. "What about you? Do you love everyone like angels say? Do you even _love me_?" Crawly asked with a huge grin, showing his remarkably pointy teeth that made Aziraphale gulp for some reason the angel couldn't quite understand, as he was pretty sure it hadn't be out of fear.

The angel swallowed the knot on his throat. "Well, of course. I love every single creature of the Lord, Crawly, including you"

The demon was expecting that answer. And he really should be happy to be considered a creature worth loving. However, he found in his heart that the answer disappointed him. He'd never admit it, but there was indeed something different about Aziraphale. Aziraphale was different from the rest for him. But the angel… well, Crawly wasn't apparently different from the rest for Aziraphale. The red-haired was a tad surprised to find that the first deep negative emotion he felt towards Aziraphale had been a selfish need to be the only one in the angel's pretty eyes. "Did you love Abel?" he questioned, giving Aziraphale a loaded gun.

The latter's eyes were darkened with anguish. "Yes" he admitted, shooting the gun.

And Crawly should've really learned how to face with defeat by that moment. But the idiot seemed to be willing to make the same mistake over and over again. Perhaps demons did enjoy pain after all. "Did you love him like you love me?"

Aziraphale was definitely startled by that. He let out a low gasp of horror. He seemed almost terrified at that question. "No" he answered shakily, shooting the demon in the heart.

_See? You're still a demon. He doesn't care about you_. "Right…" Crawly mumbled, using all his inner strength to not seem affected by that new knowledge.

The fair-haired looked at the holocausts one more time. He should've lied, he thought. He should've said that yes, indeed he loved Abel just as much as he loved Crawly… but something just felt wrong about it. The young boy had just died and, even though his chest felt heavy with grief and he could sense the infinite pain in his parents' hearts… the suffering was rather bearable. It'd take time to heal, sure. But it wouldn't be forever. However, if something like that were to happen to Crawly, Aziraphale knew he wouldn't be able to bare it. The bare thought of losing the demon was already frightening enough. Maybe Crawly and he had another thing in common: Aziraphale was probably getting too used to Crawly's presence as well.


	3. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

**Chapter 3: The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah**

_Inspect the city of Gomorrah. There had been plenty of complaints from neighbor towns. Find at least ten kind-hearted people or leave the city immediately._

It's been a while since Aziraphale had received such specific and direct orders from Heaven. In fact, since God kept on talking directly to some chosen humans, it seemed like his duties had been abandoned or, at least, stuck for a while now. The angel kept on performing minor blessings and miracles to one or other struggling human he'd met, but moreover that he tried to spend his free time staying in his temporary home, visiting new cultures and, his new unexpected favorite hobby of all, trying new food. He had also learned to read and write in a diversity of languages since Archangels had started giving missions by letters, choosing a more discreet way than popping out of nowhere with their wings on.

A strange man crashed against him in the streets. "Oh, excuse me" Aziraphale kindly apologized giving the stranger a polite smile.

The angel was so lost in thought, trying to understand what was so weird about Gomorrah anyways that he didn't notice the way the man stared at him, his brown eyes lingering around his corporation. After some quiet inspection, the man smirked satisfied. "I could excuse you if you let me buy you a drink".

_Of course Heaven wouldn't punish a city out of nowhere again, right? _He stopped on his tracks, remembering the dreadful experience of the Flood, the way rain punished humans by bringing them to death. He shivered at the remembrance of cold drops falling down his cheek as he got inside the ark, not entirely sure if the drops where from the rain or from his own tears. Ignoring every single unspoken rule again, he managed to let five children inside the ark without anyone's knowledge. When he went to the stables, ready to keep the kids hidden for the rest of the trip, he was quite astonished to find that he hadn't been the only one with that idea: Crawly was standing there too, with seven children around him.

"I mean, I wouldn't be offended if you want to buy me a drink instead…" the dark-haired stranger added, trying to call his attention again.

"Huh?" Aziraphale asked in confusion, ignoring the way his heart would pound louder at the memory of those 370 days and nights shared with Crawly and a couple of rebellious children who would make him lose his temper. The man grabbed his arm without even asking for permission. "May I help you?"

The man smiled flashily. "Yes… you could help me in many ways"

Aziraphale eyed him in confusion. The stranger didn't seem to be in need of any peculiar help in the moment: he seemed rather healthy, no malfunctioning organ, no anguished heart. In fact, he seemed content with his current life and habits, which probably included drinking as he could smell its scent pouring from his mouth like words.

"He's not gonna help you" a familiar voice corrected from behind him. Aziraphale's mouth didn't miss the opportunity to let out a relieved sigh at seeing Crawly standing there, openly glaring at the dark-haired. "Not you or anyone" the demon added as he walked to them and pushed the stranger away.

Aziraphale noticed the way the man was practically shivering in fear at the sight of the demon that once had a breakdown after realizing how humans babies were actually made. The angel arched an eyebrow at that reaction. It couldn't have been more than thirty years since he last saw Crawly, and he could bet that there was no way the Serpent could've changed enough in that time to turn out to be _that_ intimidating. "I-I'm so very sorry, Lord Crawly" the man stuttered in a hurry. "I had no idea he was yours!" he raised his hands defensively. "I mean, you've never had interest in that before and-"

"He's not mine" the demon corrected with a smirk as he placed a hand on the angel's waist. "Yet"

Well now, that was a bizarre turn of events. _'I had no idea he was yours'_ the stranger had said. Oh, so that was what he needed. Aziraphale would've huffed irritated if it wasn't for Crawly's obviously intimidating reputation. Although the angel was grateful for the help, he was also a bit annoyed by it. Sure, he didn't realize that the human was trying to woo him, but that didn't give Crawly the right to act as if he had earned that right instead. What a nerve!

The angel rolled his eyes, wondering what to do next. He could leave, after all Heaven wouldn't really mind and he hadn't met someone worth saving yet. "What do you mean by yet?" Aziraphale asked instead, almost offended, and he proudly sensed the demon's body tensing in panic. The angel pursed his lips because, again, he could leave… or return them both the favor. "Am I not yours already?" he pouted in the biggest imitation he could afford of a 'seducing' voice. The blond resisted the desire to smile smugly at the sudden flustered demon that began stammering incomprehensible words. _Not so intimidating now, are you? _And so, instead, he wrapped his arms around his neck and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

Aziraphale glanced at the stranger, who quickly blushed and ran away from them. Once he was out of sight, the angel decided it was safe enough and he untangled himself from Crawly. His poor imitation of a lovesick expression was soon replaced by a polite smile. "So, you're here… I'm starting to think the complains about this city might be into something…" he chuckled fondly, expecting Crawly to snark back a sarcastic comment about how he was there too and how prejudiced he was- but the demon just stared back at him, completely frozen in his place. "Eh… Crawly? Are you like… sleeping but with your eyes open?"

Crawly would usually respond to that type of incredibly ignorant but at the same time adorable question. Except he couldn't. His capacity to speak was damaged the second Aziraphale's arms were around his neck and finally destroyed once he kissed him. _Oh, great, you finally broke him… can I get a decent demon now? _Not even his inner demons seemed to be getting him out of that shocked state. Crawly had been around for quite a long time. The red-haired had visited countless places, had witnessed unspeakable horrors, had been damned and blessed and damned again more times that he had ever dared to reflex on. And still no one… no one had ever touched him and kissed him like Aziraphale did. Sure, some humans who found him attractive had tried, but he would always scare them away. The feeling of being used as a toy for satisfying their lust was something he'd never allowed. But Aziraphale's touch didn't feel like that. Aziraphale's touch had been incredibly natural and accepting. It had been respectful, trusting, sweet and unafraid. The angel wasn't scared of him, never had been actually. Not even his cold dangerous guy façade he had been wearing since he arrived to that shitty town had managed to repel the blue-eyed Principality who had been by his side during the days of the Flood, letting him sleep with his head on his shoulder, guarded and hidden by soft white wings.

"Oh, dear…" Aziraphale commented as he realized his pathetic attempt at wooing back had probably been so bad that the demon's lost his mind. It wasn't the first time it happened actually. He was starting to believe that maybe a bit of his angelic essence would partially block the occult being's mind whenever he was too affectionate with him. That or demons were really not used to any kind of affection at all. He remembered the way he almost panicked when he held his cheek back during the war. Instead of getting used to it, it seemed like the demon was slowly getting more and more affected by those kinds of behaviors as time passed.

The first time Crawly had a complete breakdown had been a few centuries ago, one night in the ark. The kids were asleep and they were just having a pleasant discussion over which of the four sons of Noah deserved to be the next prophet from God when a thunderstorm made Crawly jump in fear, seeking protection getting closer to Aziraphale to the point his head was on his neck and his hand was placed on his chest.

"Is everything alright?" he had asked back then.

The demon's amber eyes were shinning in a way he'd never seen before. "Brought back memories… that's all" he vaguely explained, though Aziraphale knew what he was talking about. The loud thunder falling from the sky was just like angels falling from Heaven and, no matter how hard he tried to wave it off, the fair-haired had a feeling Crawly never completely healed from that.

Aziraphale, in his apparent need to comfort him somehow, grabbed the hand that was leaning on his chest. "Maybe you could make new memories now" he gave the hand a squeeze. "Better ones"

That's all it took for Crawly's face to turn completely red and stop talking for fifteen minutes straight until Aziraphale shot him some water in the face. The angel sighed reluctantly as he miracled a bucket of water again and splashed it on the frozen demon just like he had done back then. Unfortunately, this time, the red-haired didn't even flinch at it. "Oh, fuck"

Crawly blinked slowly at that. "Did you- did you just curse?" he questioned before chuckling.

Oh, why did Aziraphale try to have him speaking again in the first place? Some quiet should've been more than welcomed. The angel rolled his eyes at the laughter. "Oh, do please close your mouth or I'll kiss you again"

The demon's laughter stopped all of a sudden. The idea of Aziraphale kissing him every time he was a tad annoying was actually… appealing. Those soft lips were definitely tempting, he concluded as he touched the place in his left cheek that had just been marked by them. It was warm. It was sweet. It was so… Aziraphale. "Don't be disgusting" Crawly muttered instead, though his tone was less than convincing. Maybe the angel would act more freely if he allowed himself to be more disgusting once in a while… when he was with Crawly of course.

Aziraphale was kind enough to ignore that comment. "So, how long have you been in town?"

"Eh… not much. Few weeks at most" the demon frowned, trying to remember when he'd arrived. "Got a commendation because of it and-"

"You managed to create a town so sinful it caught God's attention in only a few weeks?!" Aziraphale asked surprised and a bit impressed too. Well, it was no question that Crawly knew how to tempt humans. After all, he was tempting even in his holy eyes, so of course humans would fall into sinning for him. The angel wished he knew how to make his missions that appealing to humans too. The more he knew them, the more he was slowly becoming aware of how hard it was to make them follow his advises and the path of God.

Crawly snorted at his reaction. "Aziraphale, when I received the commendation, I didn't even know this city existed!" he laughed. "And since I came I've been mostly sleeping"

Oh. Well, that kind of fitted Crawly more to be honest. The Principality frowned in thought. "That means… you had nothing to do with this? Neither you nor your side?"

"Nope" the red-haired simply answered.

"Interesting" Aziraphale allowed himself to chuckle too. "If humans keep on like this then our jobs won't only be easy, but they won't be needed at all!" he laughed, missing the way his companion's laughter stopped abruptly.

_Hold up_. He's got a point. _A good one, almost impressive_. The demon silently arched an eyebrow at the thought. Humans, by exercising free will, had been definitely making their job way easier. They were creative. They didn't really need someone evil whispering in their ear or someone kind guiding them, they were capable of earning those abilities on their own. Plus, they were fast learners and were reproducing at a high rate. If things kept on like that, there truly won't be any need for them to interfere at all. Maybe in a future they could stop worrying about only working, perhaps they could enjoy the Earth in that future. And who knows? Maybe they could enjoy it together too. Crawly couldn't deny that the moment he sensed Aziraphale had walked into Gomorrah, his spirit lifted and his usual lack of will to get out of bed vanished miraculously. "Do you still eat?" he asked -with a soft smile that he'd never admit-.

The angel seemed visibly interested in those words. "As a matter of fact, I do".

The Serpent of Eden literally kneeled in front of him. "Then, Guardian of the Eastern East, would you do me the honor of allowing me to take you to the best restaurant in town?" he asked with one of the biggest mocking tones he had ever used. "Or… how was it that that weirdo' said? Oh, yeah, do you wanna help me in my personal quest of not dying of boredom?"

Aziraphale chuckled at the whole ridiculousness of the situation. How annoyingly typical of Crawly! How annoying and still, the blond found it rather sweet too. He thought of extravagant invitations, of conceited men who would fix their eyes on him for some reason he didn't personally understand, and of all the times he'd been forced to saying yes in order to finish a blessing, and all those times he had to say yes just out of politeness. "Oh, what a tempting way to ask me to be your afternoon entertainment" the Principality answered fondly as he realized that there was no obligation to use as an excuse in that acceptance.

Both beings laughed before Crawly stood up and began guiding him towards the busy streets of that strange and exotic town. The angel was surprised to notice that one of the main apparent sins was lust. There were humans having orgies in plain daylight, barely hidden by the shadows of alleys. There were also a few thieves and many alcoholics. Violence wasn't uncommon either, Aziraphale noticed once they got inside the restaurant, where customers had a brute tendency to end up brawling and breaking many tables and dishes in the way.

The angel didn't work as hard as he wished he had to find the ten golden-hearted people there. He would say that it had been the lack of time: the Principality had only one day to find them. Heaven would say that those ten people simply didn't exist. The painful truth was that Aziraphale neglected his job by spending time alongside someone he actually had fun with.

"That's horrible!" Aziraphale claimed, though he was laughing his lungs out.

"Thank you! 'S good to see my evil deeds are being properly acclaimed!" Crawly answered with a soft smile that wasn't really frequent on him, although it fit him nicely. The demon drank the wine on his cup in one shot before continuing. "And so, I kept on insisting wearing sandals with their laces untied made people more attractive, and the next week -now, just picture this- the next week I woke up and hear these constant crashes all over the town..." he grinned at realizing the way Aziraphale almost choked on the grape he was eating because of a sudden burst of laughter.

The angel rolled his eyes at that, but with his smile untouched. "Please, don't tell me they actually bought that!"

Crawly smiled proudly as someone in the background fell flat on their face on the floor. "What do you think?"

That certainly made the angel laugh even harder in delight. That laughter wasn't something new, after so many times of bumping into one and other, but it definitely was something rare. And so, Crawly enjoyed the sound of it, treasuring it as his favorite melody in the Universe. Aziraphale, for all his courage, was also a rather nervous being who had that constant fear of disappointing Heaven. He once almost voiced that fear, the night they finally left the ark. Noah had discovered they had been hiding more humans and said some rude words to the Principality, calling him more than just an incompetent.

"He may speak to God, but he knows shit about you" Crawly tried to comfort him.

"No" Aziraphale answered with a crackling voice before turning around. "He's right" and the demon could swear there were tears on his eyes. "My job is so simple… following orders, believing in Her and I _know_ what I have to do a-and still…" he sighed. "I'm the worst angel in existence".

Crawly couldn't comfort him then, as he didn't know how to be a good angel -or demon- either. But he did know that Noah was an ass. And so, he tempted him into trying that little drink made of fermented grapes, which lead to the prophet hanging off his tent completely naked and foolishly trying to come down. He heard Aziraphale laugh wholeheartedly that night for the first time, and the demon quickly decided he liked that laugh. And he also liked the way Aziraphale would enjoy this type of temptations and evil deeds, the less soul-sucking ones, the less harmless in the big way… but the ones that showed people's true essence by putting them in an uncomfortable situation. Crawly got an incredible sting of pleasure whenever he did those kinds of celestial pranks. He could bet he had done them in the past, before the fall, maybe even caused the fall in the first place, and he still adored them. And Aziraphale will scold him and roll his eyes in disapproval… but Crawly knew he adored them too.

"Eh- excuse me" a young brown-haired lad called them, interrupting their laughs. Crawly openly glared at him while Aziraphale straightened his clothes and smiled politely. "Hi… I have, I tried the whole shoelaces stuff but the… person I love doesn't reciprocate my feelings yet"

Crawly snorted. "'S not my fault, never said it was infallible"

Aziraphale quickly sensed the anguish in the youngster's heart. He softened. "Have you told them how you feel?"

_Great_. Crawly mentally groaned at noticing the angel's interest in the topic. The blue-eyed fool couldn't help but being a romantic when it came to humans: he just liked helping anyone whenever he could. It was exhausting just watching him. Imagine if he did every bad deed he could whenever he got the chance, he'd never have time for enjoying a good nap again!

"I… well…" the human blushed. "I mean, it's pretty obvious… I'm sure he has probably picked it up by now"

Aziraphale turned to Crawly with pouting lips and his hands on his chest. "Oh, no, angel, no, no…"

Of course that 'no' turned into a 'yes' as soon as Aziraphale's lips began begging for his help. _You've got a soft spot for him_. "No kidding, genius…" he couldn't resist mumbling as he was following Aziraphale and the human as they walked to meet with the man's wanna-be lover. _No._ He rolled his eyes at realizing that his inner demon wasn't about to drop the topic. _You've really got a soft spot for him_. That was no really new information for the demon in question. Yeah, he'd always had an obsession with the angel who spared his life in a war, of course he had! Aziraphale was one of the few things he was looking forward to meeting every day. _That's- you do realize that's not normal, do you?_

Crawly had no idea about what point his hellish side was trying to make and so he ignored it, choosing to see the way Aziraphale would work instead. The angel was as enthusiastic as any supernatural creature trying their powers for the first time. He kept on giving encouraging little advises he probably only ever heard of, as he was clearly inexperienced in that type of love, saying things like 'oh, I've heard some humans would prefer roses instead of dailies'. Crawly chuckled at his innocence, though he found it quite endearing.

And, as soon as the other man appeared, Crawly almost had a second breakdown due to the fact that Aziraphale grabbed his arm and pulled him behind a tree so they could watch from afar. It wouldn't be so breathtaking if it wasn't for the way the angel was basically wrapped around him with an absent-minded smile and a faraway look with his blue eyes full of light and hope. His soft hands were around his waist, his legs pressed against his legs and his smell overtook the bitter scent of alcohol that was characteristic of Gomorrah. _We like this. Why do we like this?_

The human couple kissed, making Aziraphale sigh helplessly. Crawly gulped: the demon wished he sighed in that way towards him. "Those two had pure hearts" the angel reposed before gazing at him with a huge smile. "Thanks for sticking with me today, Crawly" Aziraphale said out loud, his hand was now on his chest, touched by the scene of the lovers finally in peace with his feelings; his tone was warm and soft. It felt nothing like Hell, but Crawly was burning all the same.

_Something's wrong_. "'S nothing, really. I didn't do anything" Crawly answered, giving a small but sincere smile of his own. It didn't feel wrong. Aziraphale never did. _That's the problem_.

The angel slowly untangled his arms from him and opened his mouth to talk again just when a familiar trumpet was heard. They both froze in the place as a golden unsigned letter appeared in Aziraphale's hands. The angel opened it trembling. He coughed a few times before reading it, uncertainty in every movement. "Sodom and Gomorrah would be destroyed. Evacuate immediately. Alone and don't look back at it. Help Abraham meet with Lot outside of town. God's direct orders".

The ashes started to take over the air. They were lucky that they didn't need to breathe in the first place, otherwise, their throats would've probably been too dry to properly function anymore. The heat was growing unbearable with every passing second as both entities stared at the miles and miles of empty desert in front of them, with both cities burning to dust behind them. The familiar smell of sulfur made Crawly's stomach flinch a bit, so he coughed a little in order to ignore his painful memories. He looked at the angel by his side. The Principality didn't seem to be in a better state. His usual blond hair had earned a grey tone due to the long exposure to the ashes. Even his skin was stained with grey that fought its way into the whiteness that usually surrounded him. What really concerned the demon though were his eyes. Aziraphale's bright blue eyes had turned almost brown, a shallow of their former self, as a clear anguish was taking over them. To think that was the face of someone who had been laughing and joking about the silliest things of the world with a wiggle and a smile that could blind the stars only a few hours ago.

A pitching shriek was heard behind them and Crawly noticed how Aziraphale's hands started to clutch into his white robe with all the strength required to hold the need to turn around and do something. The angel's eyes hesitated but stood fixed on the empty environment in front of them. The red-haired demon's heart felt a sting of pain at the sight: Aziraphale was silently suffering. He couldn't say a word, not being capable of facing the punishment of Heaven if they heard his disdain over the destruction of the cities. Angels didn't particularly find these types of political decisions as bad or good: they were just decisions, orders from God that you weren't supposed to question because God must know what's right and what's wrong. She created the universe; it was only fair for her to destroy if it needed to be punished. It was a matter of pure logic. The problem was that Aziraphale was a Principality who gave away his flaming sword so the humans would survive, healed a demon in a battlefield because it was the right thing to do, adored food because it simply felt nice and always managed to find a spark of good in everyone. All things considered, Aziraphale wasn't a creature usually guided by logic. He was emotional and impulsive, something that always made him stuck out of the other angels. Something that made Crawly like him in the first place. _Like?_ Well, like is a strong word. He simply… bore him, yeah, that's it.

_He doesn't give a shit about you anyways, Crawly. Don't forget that._ There was also the fact that Aziraphale barely stood him too. The angel could share with him a few laughs or games, but he knew that deep down he would do that with any other human or angel or demon. That was just the way Aziraphale was, he was nice to everybody without judgment. The blond being had said it before, he simply loved everyone.

The demon didn't think the pain that phrase had caused him would ever be surpassed, but as he saw a tear falling down from Aziraphale's cheeks, that little sting of pain seemed like a day sleeping compared to the agony he was left with after watching that tear. He didn't know an angel could cry. He didn't know how to react, and he was in the torn position of wanting to ask the angel what was wrong or trying to comfort him in some way without talking. Crawly knew what was wrong. And he knew better than anyone the exact reason why Aziraphale had his mouth shut. As an Angel of the Lord, you were not supposed to doubt Her judgment. Everything the Lord did was ineffable, you were part of the Great Plan and you had an exact role to fulfill. If you didn't fulfill it, then you couldn't be part of the reign of God any longer. And, as much as Crawly wished they both were on the same side, he never _ever_ wanted Aziraphale to fall. He came across with the idea a few times in the past and felt too disgusted to even imagine it.

Crawly's chest was filled with panic as he saw the angel's lips part a little, ready to speak. "Don't say anything" Crawly interrupted with a serious face. "They can't read your mind, as long as your doubts are kept there, they'll never be able to prove anything" he explained with a monotonous tone before looking down. It wasn't the most malicious course of action a demon would take… but the red-haired being had never been good at following orders. He didn't want Aziraphale's light to extinguish. The angel had something he'd never seen before: honest kindness and compassion. Aziraphale belonged to Heaven, just as the clouds, the gold, the doves and the stars. He was what humans expected from God and the demon was quite attracted to that, like a moth to the light. To make Aziraphale fall would earn him a throne in Hell, but he'd lose the only good thing he actually had.

The blond entity stared at him in shock. He had suspected that Crawly wasn't interested in corrupting him in a long time ago, but the demon didn't need to do that. He didn't need to give him the key to surpass the judgment of Heaven. _You care about _me_?_ Their relationship had always been quite confusing to be honest. Aziraphale trusted him too much for his own good. _You're too gullible_, the Archangels had told him when he shared his positive opinions towards the humans, _you see good in everyone. But there are no in-betweens in Heaven_. To say that the angel was having an internal crisis would be a statement. He had never felt so… upset with the behavior of his side before. _It's all part of the plan_. Angels were meant to obey God's orders. Thanks to them, most of the things God wanted happened. But, as the image of Sandalphon stained with blood and ashes came back, Aziraphale sat on the dirt and started to wonder if he liked the plan enough to help it succeed.

Crawly noticed the way his companion was shaking and he remembered the shaking angel he met inside a cave centuries ago. His blue eyes were as lost as they were back then, with a slight darkness creeping in. The sight made his chest ache even more, making the demon panic for a moment. He'd felt sad over other beings before, but it had never hurt him that much. He felt as if his chest had been stabbed by a sword, it was a never ending pain that wasn't enough to kill you, which was the worst part. Crawly hissed, realizing he'll choose holy water over this any given day. He wasn't feeling pity for the angel, let alone empathy, it was pure anguish over the fact of simply seeing him holding back the tears. His usual demonic voice seemed to agree with the fact that Aziraphale didn't deserve that. An angel kind enough to heal a demon didn't deserve to have a broken heart; he deserved to have bloody Heaven under his feet. Though Crawly couldn't provide him that, of course. The red-haired could barely provide him some sort of decent company.

"Grape for your thoughts?" the demon asked sitting down beside the angel with a comforting smile on his face. The angel stopped staring at the void and turned to see Crawly confused. _You just had told him to not say anything, genius_. "I mean, grape for guessing your thoughts?" he corrected face-palming himself internally.

Aziraphale didn't comment anything on that weird behavior, too exhausted to even argue with his supposed enemy who was actually providing the closest thing he'd get to comfort. "I don't really have grapes… but I'll manage something" he said in a thin voice. It was so low and shaky that Crawly's sadness was replaced by the hugest amount of wrath he had never felt before.

_How dare Heaven make you sad? How dare they? They didn't even listen to your players, the fucking hypocrites. _"If I were you… who I'm definitely not… I mean, I am a demon after all… but I'll probably be confused" Crawly started trying to find the self-control he lacked to be as sensible as possible with the touchy subject he was going to have to talk about. "You must adore humans. They are messy as hell, and can be way crueler than hell, let me tell you that… but they can also be more compassionate and kinder than Heaven too" the angel simply stared at him as another tear fell down, though the demon knew he agreed, he could see how hard Aziraphale was trying not to agree with him verbally. "I'm sure you feel like God did the right thing by creating them. So, of course you don't find any sense in God destroying them by the minimum level of disobedience" Aziraphale now looked away. So, Crawly grabbed his hand, desperate for seeing his eyes again. At first, the ethereal entity flinched at the touch, as if he wasn't expecting it, but after a few seconds, he entwined his own fingers with Crawly's ones, sending a wave of warmth into Crawly's chest. "You saw the flood in Mesopotamia. You saw the rainbow afterwards… Angel, you wanted to believe in that promise. You wanted to believe in it, though deep down… you knew it was probably a lie" Aziraphale cleaned a tear that was falling down from his left eye and nodded a little, though he still wouldn't meet his eyes. "That wasn't the last time… and you also know this isn't going to be the last time either"

Aziraphale was trying too hard in holding back the tears. It was as if Crawly was speaking his own mind, his own thoughts… it was as if Crawly understood him. Nobody back in Heaven understood him. Of course there would be bad people in Sodom and Gomorrah, but he knew there were good people too. The image of the lovers haunted him as he realized he hadn't been capable of saving them. He didn't try enough. The angel felt that not even God understood him now, seeing that She hadn't answered his prayers. He felt utterly useless. He felt like an outcast that would never fit in like the rest of the angels and would never fit in with the rest of the humans. The smell of sulfur and salt were invading the air. The distressed angel wasn't even allowed to look back at the burned city. Well, he wasn't allowed to do a lot of things.

"There's nothing you can do to avoid this" Crawly said, using his thumb to caress the angel's hand. "This is bigger than you or me. It sucks, but the only thing we are able to do sometimes is just stand and watch… well, only stand now" he finished with a kind tone that the angel couldn't remember hearing on him before. It was sweet and honest, no teasing, no tempting, no second intentions, no anger nor sadness… just a simple caring tone that shielded the angel from the reality of the world, inviting him to stay by his side forever if necessary until the pain inside of him vanished.

_You're the kindest being I've ever met_. The angel thought before finally breaking down. Tears started to fall down from his face, blurring his eyes. He quickly put his arms around Crawly's waist, surprising the demon, and pulled him close enough to bury his face on his chest. Aziraphale had always tried to conceal his emotions. He had been taught to be hard, to be prepared for the pain the creatures will have to eventually face due to their sins. Still, it never worked. For the longest time the blond being had believed that there was something awfully wrong with him. He was too anxious, for starters. His mind was always looking for a different way of solving conflicts, believing that war was something negative instead of an obvious way to get to an arrangement with the enemy. Then, he felt things for… other beings. He felt guilty, he felt pity, he felt sad, he felt angry, he felt sorry, he felt empathy. The angel was capable of feeling the whole spectrum of emotions without any filter. He wasn't completely sure of it, but he'd always suspected that the rest of the angels just didn't have enough emotions in the first place.

This started to change when he met Crawly though. The demon was almost as incompetent at being a demon as he was at being an angel. He also had his own ideas apart from what his side believed in, he had also shown disdain at war and he had also been capable of feeling. The angel had never met a human capable of feeling more intensively than Crawly actually. The demon was extremely passionate about everything. He was capable of feeling an emotion so deeply that his eyes usually betrayed him. His eyes were the brightest and the darkest source of emotions the angel had ever witnessed before.

Aziraphale felt bonded to him somehow. He felt like he… fit in by his side. And, as the blond angel started to feel Crawly's arms hugging him back with the same tenderness and kindness he had shown a few seconds ago to have, Aziraphale felt dizzily safe in those arms. Oh, dear Lord, it felt too good. Their warmth was mixing up together; the smell of apples, dirt and ashes that followed the demon wherever he went were suddenly covering his body. The angel shivered at the thought of being absorbed by darkness, but still refused to believe their relationship could be bad.

One of Crawly's arms started to caress his back, making relaxing patterns with his fingers on the white robe the angel was wearing. The red-haired demon was still in a state of shock as he lifted his hands high enough to touch the angel's blond hair. He started to fiddle with one lock of hair and felt Aziraphale's hold on him grow even tighter. Oh, this was really happening then. It was rather bittersweet because the angel was literally crying his heart out, but he was also embracing him like it was the end of the world and he never wanted to be parted from his side again. Crawly wanted to evaporate his sadness, to fill him with joy instead. Would food be enough? Would leaving the place make him smile? Would drinking make him feel better? Was he even enough to comfort him? The demon sighed sadly as he lowered his head, to be on the same level of Aziraphale's face. The angel was definitely craving touch but, being a demon, he wasn't used to it at all. So, he just decided to leave his serpent instinct work instead. He began caressing his face against the angel's cheeks. The demon had witnessed this type of behavior with some mammals in the garden in the past. It took him some time to discover that it was a predecessor to mating, though for humans it was barely touching each other's faces. And for angels, it probably meant even less. Aziraphale had his eyes closed, but clearly felt the change, leaning into the touch. This small gesture of acceptance was enough for Crawly to silently smile at him and keep on caressing the angel's face and neck softly, enjoying it too much to even deny that he wanted this. For Satan's sake, he felt incredible all of a sudden. The red-haired being's insides felt like he had been drinking for the last hour, as his body was burning with emotion. The demon was suddenly capable of smelling the angel, as his tongue was too close now. It was intoxicating, the sweet smell of bread, honey, daisies, paper and humidity combined in one. To be honest, everything about the angel was intoxicating. The angel didn't have his head on his chest anymore, but his firm hands were still on his waist, as his own hands were still wrapped around the angel's neck. The angel's crying frequency had definitely diminished now. Perhaps Crawly did know how to comfort him after all. The red-haired demon licked a small tear that went down the angel's cheek, making the blond entity open his eyes.

Fear quickly crossed the demon's eyes, thinking he had definitely crossed a line and Aziraphale was realizing the real meaning behind his weird behavior that came from being a snake. His terror was replaced with surprise as the angel put his hand on his cheek, holding him like the first time and pulled him in, making both their foreheads touch. For a while, there were no screams of people, no sulfur in the air, no death surrounding them, no sides to order them. For a while, they were just Crawly and Aziraphale, two beings who cared about each other deeply. And, for a while, that was the only thing that mattered.

_This feels right. Even if he's a demon, this has to be right._

Unfortunately though, that thought woke Aziraphale's anxious mind. He thought some of the people back in Gomorra lived a righteous life too. He could've bet on it, because of the way the young lovers he helped were graceful and sweet at the same time. They were even kind-hearted. They were kind even if they weren't worshipping the Lord. They loved each other even if they had one or more partners… and still God punished them. He opened his eyes, staring at the beautiful demon in front of him. He was kind and dear… and still fell. Crawly was a demon, and Aziraphale realized that said demon gave him pure affection, something you'd never get from Heaven. You'd never get hugs in Heaven; you'd never get comfort or warmth. Heaven was cold and hard. They loved everyone just the same, which was the same to say they were indifferent to everyone just the same. Angels weren't supposed to have preferences. But Aziraphale had them. It wasn't just that he had a soft spot for the demon, his whole body, mind and soul were soft for him; they longed for him. It wasn't just a preference; this was something bigger than that. The void that Heaven put inside of him was filled whenever he thought of Crawly. What would Heaven think? What would God think? Angels were capable of murdering. Would they punish Crawly the same way they did with Sodom and Gomorrah?

"I… I have to go to Abraham to check on him" Aziraphale explained separating himself from Crawly's grasp.

The demon almost reached for his hand. It was a small movement, almost a reflex before folding his arms against his chest quickly. It was a small movement, but Aziraphale saw it clear enough. "Right. I guess I'll have to stay here till my side checks on it. If they were punished by God, we'd probably get many souls"

The angel smiled at him. "That made me realize Sandalphon just made your job way easier" he said trying to sound amused, though his voice still sounded quite anguished.

"Yeah, we have way more souls than your side now. Of course making them to believe by threatening them doesn't have anything to do with that"

Aziraphale chuckled at him. "Lovely use of sarcasm, Crawly" he stood up and extended his hand towards the demon. "You'll tell me more about your ideas to make Heaven more efficient next time"

Crawly took his hand hesitantly and shook it, enjoying the touch of the angel's soft skin one more time. "Just if you tell me how Heaven comes up with such great ideas for torture"

And with one last smile, their paths parted again.


	4. 40 Years in the Desert, Pt 1

**Chapter 4: 40 Years in the Desert, Pt. 1**

Demonic works sucked. Crawly wasn't even going to deny it any longer to satisfy his inner snake. It was dreadful, exhausting and dealing with people potentially evil wasn't as interesting as it was in the beginning -back when the idea of a human doing something rather bad was a novelty-. Nowadays though, the idea of a human doing something good was the real novelty. Especially in Egypt, where he was given the work to deal with the pharaohs, mislead them and corrupting them. To be honest, it took Crawly two weeks to decide that the best thing he could do to corrupt them was to simply _let them be_. Sure, once in a while he'd receive specific commands and would persuade them as necessary under Hell's orders. But there were a couple of situations that simply overwhelmed him, such as the genocide of hundreds of Hebrew babies.

_They're the people from God, you should be happy_. Except that no, they were not. They were babies, not even aware of concepts such as life or death. The worst part of it all was that he was probably going to get a commendation out of this one, even though he had absolutely nothing to do with it. The demon had always suspected that the sin that made him fall had been wrath or pride. Now, he was finding sloth actually as a pretty fitting sin for him. He took a shoot from the wine on his cup and glanced down the bleeding streets from Egypt. What a lovely view from his balcony! Definitely fitting for his role in the world! "Thanks for everything, mom!" he dared to scream at Heaven, to indirectly talk to Her for the first time since the fall. "Why don't you just make them kill the women too? Or, oh, what about the kids? Yeah, just like Noah all over again! It'd surely be a fucking amazing sight to watch! C'mon! Show your people your damn Heavenly love!" he shouted to no one in particular, knowing there was no way She would even pay attention to him –because, well, he had been cast out after all, hadn't he? "Why don't you just kill me like the rest of 'em?" his voice turned weaker, just like himself. "War never stops. It never stops… I never really got it… why am I still alive? Why are we all still alive? Just to… be monsters for eternity? That's rather bitchy if you ask me"

He glanced at the balcony once again before lying on his mattress. Sleeping had always been a nice comfort, as it was the closer to death he'd get in the next thousand of years and-

Crawly's eyes wide opened in alarm. He felt something. Something inside his soul that was pulling him out of his current dilemma against the universe. Something warm and soft that was usually accompanied by blue and white. He slowly sat up as the feeling grew stronger. _Oh, great, you summoned him_. The demon stood up, surprised by his apparent ability to sense the angelic being who he had last seen hundreds of years ago. He walked through the palace determinedly, neglecting every single shriek from outside. His chest felt warmer with every step until he was standing a few meters away from the backside of the palace, alongside a river, the place where the princess would usually bath herself.

The red-haired recognized the blond curls hidden in the shrubberies as the princess found a small baby floating in the river. The angel waited patiently until the princess was far enough to come out. He smiled proudly at the situation before glancing at Crawly in surprise. The demon expected some sort of scolding towards the whole massive murders situation, but was surprised to be received with Aziraphale's soft smile and an excited wave. Crawly smirked before walking to him. Perhaps he could live a few years more.

"Is he still up there?" Crawly asked the angel, as he was currently sat and staring at the Mount Sinai with pure concern in his eyes.

Aziraphale limited his response to a small nod, making the demon sigh in irritation. Of course Aziraphale was going to be worried sick the whole time Moses spent out of his sight: the angel basically raised him like a younger brother, always trying to protect him, keeping a wing on his head whenever rain happened. And Crawly knew he couldn't blame a Principality, whose main work was to protect people, for being extremely overprotective with the prophet. And no matter how strangely adorable that side of Aziraphale was to Crawly, the angel still needed to chill once in a while.

The red-haired sat besides his companion and handled him a bunch of grapes. The angel obviously reacted to that: he would always react to food. "Where did you get these?"

"Let's just say I didn't leave Egypt empty-handed…" that earned him an accusing frown that made him snort. "Oh, c'mon! It's not like I caused seven plagues to kill innocent people. I just… carefully took them when no one was looking"

Aziraphale ignored the mention of the plagues, just as he had been ignoring many triggering situations he went through with Crawly because of their fault. This time, though, he had managed to conceal his tears while people were being slowly killed bit by bit with each plague. "So, you stole them?"

"So, I gifted them to you" he corrected handling him the grapes with a roll of eyes. "Stop complaining or I'll never give you food again"

Aziraphale huffed. "Oh? Was that supposed to be some sort of threat?"

"Perhapss…"

Oh, Aziraphale recognized that hiss too well. It always sent a shiver down his spine. It should be repelling, really, but he was starting to find himself oddly attracted to certain demonic behaviors of Crawly. Sometimes he wondered if it was all part of the whole tempter demon deal, or if it was just something only Crawly had. "It'd be fun if after all these years we end up having a proper fight over grapes"

The demon tilted his head to the sides, considering the idea. "I mean, to be honest, angel, I do believe food is definitely reason enough to smite people for you"

"Says the demon who haunted a poor boy's dreams for weeks only because he spilled his wine on one of the palace's plants by accident"

"It was the least I could do with that idiotic insensitive asshole! Plants can't defend themselves, angel, we've been over this!"

"It still was overreacting, Crawly-"

"OVERREACTING?!" the demon interrupted furiously. "Now, _you_, the king of panicking over nothing, are accusing _me_ of overreacting?!"

It was Aziraphale's turn to look scandalized. "I do not panic over nothing, for your information, Crawly! I just worry _enough_"

And both entities kept on arguing about nothing, occasionally making a comment that could be seen as teasingly from a third point of view. One of the Hebrews got closer to Aaron as they stared at the blond and the red-haired who were almost relatives to Moses. "Even they agree that this sucks" the man commented under his breath, clear resentment in his voice. Aaron sighed exhausted. Without Moses, people were growing irritated, to the point they decided to build a golden calf to adore. He knew that God would be upset, but he also knew Moses would come back if such blasphemy were to take place.

"You're simply annoying!" Aziraphale finished their argument with a roll of eyes.

Crawly's eyes brightened at that. "Oi, I am, definitely, a real nightmare" he reposed before smirking. "But at least you're not discorporating due to concern over Moses anymore"

The angel wide opened his eyes in shock at the realization. He noticed the demon's sharp expression turn into a small, almost shy, smile at the revelation of his real objective with the argument. Aziraphale snorted before softening. "I've been deep inside my head lately, haven't I?"

"Yep" the red-haired chuckled. "I mean, it is easier to tempt people when you're like this"

The Principality couldn't even pretend to be mad at that, choosing to laugh wholeheartedly instead. That contagious laughter made the demon chuckle too, ignoring the fact that Aziraphale was cautiously moving closer to him. And, by the time, Crawly realized the position the both finished in, he basically froze in the spot: Aziraphale was leaning against his chest, basically embracing himself and rejoicing in his warm. The angel wiggled happily, accommodating his back against the Serpent's body. "Sorry…" he started softly, as the distinguishable scent of Crawly began overwhelming him again. "I really am worried… not only about how long he takes though. I am worried about… well, many things" Aziraphale felt Crawly's hands hesitatingly leaning on his waist. "Do you remember the plague of darkness?"

The red-haired's chest felt that weird calming warmth again as his dirty hands were on the angel's white robe. His mind was also feeling particularly light as Aziraphale found his way between his legs to end up sitting on his lap, with his back on the demon, allowing the latter to embrace him from behind, just as they'd done a few months ago in Egypt. "Of course I remember that damned plague… we were at the palace, we suffered it first hand"

"Angels are afraid of the dark, you know?" he admitted with a frown. "We all live in fear of being cast out, of being thrown into the darkness, outside of Her light"

"That'd explain the whole glowing thing your kind has" Crawly tried to humor him, but the angel stood dead serious. That day, Aziraphale had been extremely fussy about everything, though he didn't particularly seem to be afraid, just uncomfortable. In fact, the demon himself was more frightened at the time, to the point that he held into the angel until it was all over. Just as the darkness was a warning to angels, it was a reminder to demons. "Are you… afraid of the dark?"

"I thought so until the plague" the blue-eyed being pressed himself harder against his companion's body. "Crawly… are we… friends?"

_Friends_. That wasn't a word you would hear in Hell. And he wasn't entirely sure of having heard it back in Heaven. He knew neither Gabriel nor Michael were Aziraphale's friends for starters. No, it wasn't a common term for entities like themselves. It meant trust, loyalty, and love. It was a term used for allowing someone to get under your skin, to care for the other person's happiness selflessly. Crawly had never had a friend before. He was a demon: rivals were his specialty. He wasn't completely sure of being capable of having a friend, of letting someone in that much, to have such a weak spot. Still, if he were to have one… well, Aziraphale was definitely the closest he could get. "Don't really know, angel" he admitted after a while, with blue eyes inspecting him intrigued. "Demons don't… really have friends"

"That's alright" the angel smiled sadly at him. "Angels are supposed to be friends with everyone, which is the same to say that we don't really have friends- at least, not friends in the human way"

Crawly hummed. "It's not that surprising when you remember that angels and demons are from the same flock" he held on tighter to the angel in his arms. _Don't_. "I'd like to"

The blond being relaxed under his grip. "To have a friend?"

"No" and Crawly had to take a deep breath to find the courage to finish that clarification. "I'd like to be your friend"

Aziraphale turned in shock to face him. And, huh, he actually seemed appealed by the idea. His eyes, lighter than usual, were staring in pure awe. "You would, wouldn't you?" he asked softly before pursing his lips. "We'd be great friends if we weren't an angel and a demon, I know that"

Somehow, the red-haired doubted it. Sure, they'd be friends. They always got along after all. But there was something inside of him -an instinct you may call it- that was almost convinced of the fact that they'd definitely be more than just mere _friends_. They had chemistry, which was more than most married humans would say. Not that- eh, Crawly was interested in marriage, no, that's- _Did you just imply that you two would be_\- "That! That's my point! I-" the demon coughed nervously. "We… we could be friends"

"I suppose so" Aziraphale looked down anguished. "If we were humans"

"I wouldn't say that…" Crawly thought of the little information he knew about human friendships. He wasn't entirely sure about having seen two humans friends sat in their current position, but the easily way in which they would fall into conversation, the comfort they felt whenever they were around each other and the trust they shared were key to any genuine friendship. "I mean, we… I… I do like you enough to be a friend, that's to say"

Aziraphale let out a small sigh. The fair-haired knew that they weren't enemies, no matter what Upstairs would make him say in front of others. He enjoyed Crawly's presence, and he had been enjoying it deeply since the birth of Moses. They both watched over the boy, as the demon joined him in the mission of trying to protect him till the time for him to become a prophet came. Beneath their bickering and sharp remarks, the angel knew Crawly cared about him too. _Truly_ cared about him. He didn't need grapes to notice that small fact. Their hug in Gomorrah had been more than a confirmation of that: there was no reason for the demon to do that other than the desire to comfort him, just like a true friend would do.

Melodic music was suddenly heard. The entities quickly stood up in confusion, following the source of that noise. They walked to the middle of the camp, shocked to find almost every member of the tribe singing and dancing around a calf statue made of gold, almost as if they were worshipping the golden figure. The angel and the demon shared a confused glance before running to Aaron, who was staring at the celebration with folded arms.

"What on the devil's name is going on here?" Aziraphale asked him in a tone with such indignation that even Crawly eyed him astonished.

Aaron simply arched an eyebrow at them. "What people want, that's what's happening. They need faith. It's either this or a rebellion"

"Woah, humans are really worse than fallen angels, ain't them?" the red-haired mumbled to his angelic counterpart.

"Not now, Crawly" the blond warned with a cold tone before clutching his hands in front of his robe. "Aaron, God's warnings are not to be taken as a joke. The Almighty would be furious if this type of behavior continues"

That phrase, accompanied by that sharp and serious tone, bothered Moses' brother to the point he openly frowned at him. "Well, what have you done to help? To avoid the growing panic in people's hearts? You're an Angel of the Lord whose only apparent job is to be besides a Spawn of Hell committing I don't know what kind of sins" the man said accusingly.

The demon gasped offended at that. "Hey, when have I ever messed with you, envious little asshole?" he snapped back. "And just so you know, your little 'plan' to help people is only going to doom them. God'ss fury'ssss not nicce, kid, I should know"

Aziraphale nodded at him, silently thanking his agreement. He glared at the human. "Aaron, you must stop this"

The Hebrew man looked down in embarrassment. "They won't listen, Aziraphale" he admitted guiltily. "I did try… but they just won't listen to reason"

"But you've allowed this" the Principality remarked disappointedly. "You're a great leader, Aaron. But your lack of faith is concerning" he reposed, sounding sincerely worried about the man's future.

It didn't matter how much Aziraphale tried to reason with the rest of the people. Humans were quite stubborn when they wanted to. The angel stopped a few people who he would consider reasonable enough to stop all that nonsense. He even tried to guilt them into stopping, but none of it would work. By the sixth human who ignored his words, Crawly started to find Aziraphale's will incredibly stronger than what he originally believed. And he was also more patient than what he would've assumed too. Aziraphale, for the fussy entity he usually was, had proven himself to have enough patience to try to convince as much as eleven humans by now. Still, it hurt him. The way humans would simply neglect his words, taking his advice for granted. The situation was slowly upsetting the kind Principality whose only aim was to protect that group of foolish humans.

"Don't you see I'm trying to help you, you foolish man!"

Huh, an insult. Yeah, Aziraphale's limited patience was reaching its peak. The demon couldn't sense it, but there definitely was anguish in his blue eyes. It was a bad day for the angel indeed. A normal demon would find his sadness amusing. In fact, any malicious human would find the angel's useless attempts rather entertaining. Crawly sighed before walking to the angel. He knew he was disappointing every single being of Hell… but he couldn't leave Aziraphale suffering like that. It dawned on him that the Principality had slowly turned into his weak spot and quickly decided that he couldn't let the angel see it. And so, he hid his interest behind a smirk. "Well, you did your best" he claimed before grabbing his hand. "You deserve a break"

"W-what?" the fair-haired asked astonished and a tad angry as he was pulled in the celebration. "Crawly!" he exclaimed scandalized. "I cannot join these blasphemous activities any more than you can walk into consecrated ground!"

Oh, he was _so_ pissed. And still he wasn't letting go of his hand. The demon pulled him even closer. "C'mon, little star! Relax! Dance with me!" Crawly exclaimed as he grinned like crazy while starting to move at the rhythm of the music.

Aziraphale was burning with fury and confusion by that point. "What? No! I'm not- you're not!" he groaned at his lack of words. "Crawly! First of, this 'little star' can smite you in one movement! Second of, this celebration insults everything I believe on! And thirdly, angels do not dance!"

The red-haired simply chuckled at that. "Has anyone told you you're adorable when you're upset?"

"No one would've dared to make that kind of disrespectful comment" Aziraphale reposed with a glare before folding his arms.

Crawly rolled his eyes at that. "Ugh… aaangeel…" he begged before spinning around in his place, action that made Aziraphale's anger soften a bit, while letting out a snort at his ridiculous dancing skills. "Oi, what was that? Was that a sssmile?"

Aziraphale rolled his eyes, but his grin widened. "It's hard not to laugh at your pathetic attempts at dancing"

The demon gasped offended. "Oh, really? Perhaps I should look for another partner… a more approachable one"

"Perhaps…" the ethereal being answered not as lightly as before. The idea of Crawly spending his time with someone else low-key bothered him. It was ridiculous, of course. The demon was more than capable of finding better company than the one he could ever provide, Aziraphale was certain of it. Perhaps even a better friend too, perhaps a human who wouldn't be afraid to tell him how beautiful and kind he truly was.

Aziraphale's silence was somehow more mortifying than his bickering. "Oh, but you want to dance with me"

_Yes_, but the problem was that, being an angel, it didn't matter what Aziraphale wanted. "Angels don't dance, Crawly" he said as the demon kept on spinning happily, this time moving around him, circling him until he was against his back.

"I thought you were a Principality" the occult being whispered in his ear, a surprise that made the angel shiver. "Plus, no one has to know… and I've been told I'm a great dance teacher"

Aziraphale snorted at that, though the idea of Crawly dancing with someone else was rather sickening for some reason. He wondered how those lessons would end up like. Maybe in a temptation? Maybe in Crawly making a new more suitable friend? Maybe in Crawly's bed? "Dance teacher?" he repeated dumbly.

The demon rolled his eyes. "Aziraphale, that was sarcasm" he admitted, not realizing the way Aziraphale relaxed at hearing that. "But I can be your teacher if you want" he finished extending his hand to the angel.

Haunting blue eyes stared at his hand, questioning, hesitating. It was a simple gesture of trust for humans, but it was so much significant for them. And Crawly truly thought he was going to be rejected by the time Aziraphale took it with hesitation. The demon smiled softly at the shy blush appearing on the angel's cheeks. Yeah, they'd definitely be more than just friends if they were humans. And Crawly wanted to keep Aziraphale extremely close, their bodies vaguely separating, their breathings mixing up, their skin touching. However, Crawly also wanted to scare people and shout insults to God. In conclusion, he wanted to do too many things and so chose to restrict himself, instead spinning Aziraphale rather abruptly, making the angel laugh in delight.

"See, angel? You're a natural!" the demon chuckled too.

"Oh, yes, I am definitely going to recommend your dancing lessons" the blond resorted with a laugh as he tried and failed to follow the music with his body. "Lord… this is harder than what it seems. That's probably the reason why angels despise dancing"

"Hey! Try first then conclude if it was the right choice afterwards! That's the right way to do it!"

Aziraphale giggled mockingly. "Crawly, that's actually not a good advice"

"Isn't it?" he wondered teasingly before grabbing both the angel's hands and spinning around together. "I mean, that's what I've always done and it worked _so_ well with me"

"You should be a life couch instead of a dancing teacher" the angel's eyes were almost blinding by the light they carried.

"Instead? I'm pretty capable of multitasking for your information, angel!"

They kept on laughing while trying to dance as humanly as they could, even if they were both pretty bad at it. In fact, if you looked from far enough, you wouldn't assume they were dancing due to the fact that it looked like they were just spinning, laughing and walking in a weird manner around each other. They received a few glares and raised eyebrows during it, especially whenever they got too close to each other, although those small moments never lasted for more than a few seconds.

But it still was rather delightful- until it was abruptly interrupted by a furious Moses. The man literally climbed down the mount and, as he took in the image of his people acting like pagans, broke the two tables he had been the last exhausting weeks writing down. He scolded the entire city, including his brother before laying his eyes on his immortals friends. "I need to talk to you two".

Silence was never a good thing, and it definitely felt as a heavy burden on their shoulders as they both walked into Moses' tent, following the clearly distressed prophet. The man seemed so sick of everything. He definitely wasn't the young bright kid who would play pranks on his grandfather alongside his best friend. No, God didn't leave him time for having fun. The brunet was forced to sacrifice most of his free will by being chosen by Her. And now, even his own brother was letting him down.

Crawly bit his lower lip. "It was my fault" he let out receiving an arched eyebrow from Aziraphale. "The whole- you know, adoring something else. I… I tempted them"

For a second, Moses looked genuinely petrified. He felt definitely betrayed as he looked down at the man he considered his family. However, his sight changed once he glanced at Aziraphale, who seemed even more shocked… but in a positive way. The prophet then huffed. "Did he really tempt Aaron, Aziraphale?"

The angel stood frozen in his place, clearly in discomfort at the question. He knew that Crawly wouldn't be mad at him with either answer. The demon was more than ready for his punishment and preferred Moses to be angry with him instead of his brother. It truly was an incredibly selfless gesture. Aziraphale smiled softly at the wonderful creature by his side. "Of course he didn't"

Crawly hated the little control he had over his corporation. For example, at the moment, he wanted to glare at the angel for not helping him do the first nice thing he was willing to do for a human. And, instead, his body only reacted by blushing at seeing the way the angel was smiling. "I- I did tempt you, sso ssstop giving me ssso much credit, angel" his hiss was also involuntary.

Moses snorted. He had truly missed their weird interactions. And he knew he was going to miss them too. "God spoke to me… about you two"

A confused and shocked glance from both was soon on him. "She… did?" Aziraphale sounded almost frightened. "What… I mean, you don't really have to tell us, but… is everything okay?"

The prophet tilted his head to the sides, considering his options. "It's all… going according to Her plan, yes" his brown eyes fixed on them. "She told me you two were…"

The Principality gulped. "Eh… rivals?" he questioned making Crawly look away. He seemed almost hurt, Moses noticed.

"Eh, not exactly that" the lad mumbled, realizing that dropping the words 'in love' as God confessed to him were going to probably be a huge mistake. It wasn't their time yet, She had told him. "More like… well, it doesn't really matter. But She knows you get along, and that's that but… She also told me all evil had to be exterminated from the camp" he pursed his lips. "And that means… Crawly, you can't stay here any longer"

Aziraphale looked down, trying to avoid the gaze of Crawly's amber eyes directed to him. Even in all their arguments and differences, the last decades were the longest time they'd spent together. And, for Heaven's sake, it had felt so good. Waking up every day to be greeted by Crawly's flashy smile would always uplift his spirit. And he knew that he was going to miss him, for no one could tell for how long their separation would be this time. The angel tried not to blink, so no tears would fall, as he remembered that the last time centuries passed before meeting again.

"Right then..." Crawly said under his breath. "Goodbye, kid" he said, clearly hurt in spite of how badly he tried to hide it. He then glanced at the angel by his side. "See you eventually, I guess"

And, just like that, the demon left the tent furiously. It was then when Aziraphale stared at the spot where Crawly used to be just a few seconds ago before gazing at the entry of the tent. It wasn't a nice sight: Crawly was walking away from his life again. If they were mortals, they'd probably never see each other again. And, the scarier part of all, was that even with their granted immortality, he couldn't be too certain about the fact that they'd cross paths again in the future. It was only hope that filled him, a resorting thought that reminded him that they had always found each other in the past.

Moses stared at the clearly brokenhearted angel in front of him. He knew Crawly was a bad influence, but he also knew Crawly had always known how to make the Principality happy. The brunet sighed. "You should leave with him" he said reluctantly.

Aziraphale turned to stare at him in shock. "Are you… kicking me out?"

"No, Zira. That wasn't an order" he explained, trying to sound extremely collected as he was probably about to lose both of the most important people of his life in one night. He was getting good at it, he supposed. People he loved would always leave him in the end. His only consolation was that Aziraphale and Crawly could be finally happy if they were to leave together. "I'm not telling you to go. I'm telling you that you're free to go with him"

There was a small moment of hesitation in Aziraphale; a small moment in which the possibility of leaving the camp with Crawly crossed his mind and… he didn't dislike the idea. In fact, he was pretty much appealed by it. He'd rather say goodbye to Moses than to Crawly any day. Wait- "I- I can't do that. My job is to protect the camp until you arrive to the Promised Land and-"

"You'll bore to death with us" Moses reposed with a sad smile. "Look, I can cover up for you if you leave now"

Aziraphale stared at his feet. He'd also have time to be properly alone with the demon for the first time in centuries if he did so. "No… Moses, I have strict orders from Gabriel, they'd scold me and-"

"Do you really want to stay here? Or do you prefer staying with Crawly? Don't lie to me, Zira"

The angel avoided his gaze before pursing his lips. "Crawly is always more thrilling…"

The prophet couldn't help but snorting at that. It wasn't the proper confession he was expecting, but it was a step nevertheless. "Then, go with him!"

Aziraphale was indeed surprised to hear that enthusiastic exclamation from Moses. In all his years, no one had ever proposed that sort of thing, no one had ever told him to be by Crawly's side. And the shock was enough to tumble all his insecurities down. The angel quickly was running to the demon he was meant to thwart. It was surprising how his mind didn't really care as he was recklessly running to the camp's edge. He didn't even mind that his feet were getting tainted by the dirt and that his corporation was suddenly sweating like crazy. And, once he spot the demon mumbling some insults while making the first step outside the camp, Aziraphale could feel his chest already filled with an inexplicable happiness. "Crawly!" he called making the latter stop in his track abruptly.

The red-haired turned around hesitantly, almost afraid of what he'd find. Not even in his craziest dreams the demon imagined he would find a running Aziraphale coming to his side with a bright smile. "Angel?" he mumbled speechless.

And that was it. It was all there, a future besides Crawly, the only being on Earth who cared about him, the only being who understood him, the only being he wanted to be besides with. And it almost felt too human to be true- as a matter of fact; yes… it was a rather human thing to do. And it suddenly dawned on him that he wasn't a human. Sure, Moses would cover up for him a few years till his death, and then what? Who will be there for the new chosen prophet? How was he ever going to explain the fact that he let the vulnerable people of God alone? And for what? For being alongside a demon that was probably going to spend his time doing temptations and working for Hell? 'Oh, I just want to spend time with my friend' was never going to be a suitable answer for Heaven. It shouldn't be a suitable answer for him either. No. He couldn't do that. Not again. Aaron was right: the people needed his guidance. Moses needed his guidance.

Aziraphale fiddled with his fingers nervously. "I… I just wanted to properly say goodbye this time" it was a painful thing to say, he realized. It was painful to choose Heaven over his friend. "I'm really…" he looked away. "These past few years were… indeed interesting. Well, you're always interesting" and there was a small blush in his cheeks now.

Crawly blushed at that too. "Flattering… but you're quite interesting yourself, angel. Trust me, I'd ignore you otherwise"

"I know you don't want to hear this…" the blue-eyed being sighed reluctantly. "But I do… appreciate what you've done back in Egypt and here too" he made two steps closer to the demon, closing the gape between them. "You…" he breathed out softly while his left hand caressed the demon's cheek sentimentally. "You are… an amazing friend, Crawly".

It was a simple confirmation. A confirmation he'd never expect to hear out of the angel but still not what he low-key yearned for either. It still pathetically filled his chest with hope. A hope for what? Crawly wasn't entirely sure, but he couldn't wait to find out. And so, he kneeled in front of his only true friend, a gesture of respect, of admiration and adoration, and kissed Aziraphale's hand affectingly in impulsion. There was a spark of excitement inside of him once he noticed the way Aziraphale's blue eyes glowed at him afterwards. For Aziraphale there were no gestures, but words. The entity was made of words and those sincere eyes that betrayed his emotions. And Crawly knew there were respect, admiration and a peculiar admiration in that deep hazel blue mess that were his eyes.

The demon walked away alone that night. And still, he felt awfully accompanied. It hadn't been enough. It probably never will be, but that night he hugged the angel. They literally danced together around a fake idol. He kissed his hand, and was even called 'friend' by his sweet voice. Moreover that, he still had decades of memories made by Aziraphale's side in Egypt. It was crazy how long they'd been together this time. And it was also crazy how they had been basically joined at the hip all that time. It was… oddly natural to be by his side. Shit, he was even going to miss his fussy scolding. _Maybe it's good to spend some time apart_. _You both need it._

The angel got inside his tent, closing its entry in urgency. He didn't even tell Moses of his decision to stay. As soon as he lost sight of Crawly in the desert, the only thing he longed was solitude. And so, he sat on his tent with an exhausted sigh before touching his hand, whose back was still warm with Crawly's lips. Somehow, the void inside his chest was even emptier after Crawly left that night. He lifted the hand to his chest, trying to feel as content as he did when he received the kiss. The demon, as far as he could tell, was a being of action. His stammering was a disaster, his expression was always rather blank, but his actions… well, they were his best way of communication. And a kiss on the hand could mean many things. It could've been a farewell gesture for starters. But it was also common in the language of lovers, of conquests, of trying to gain someone's favor, of seducing and, obviously, of loving too.

Aziraphale knew he shouldn't question it out loud, but he did raise his head and hoped for an answer anyways. "Oh, Lord… Can a demon love?"

The answer unsurprisingly never came, though Aziraphale knew long lonely years were ahead of him.

* * *

**Hi guys, sorry, I updated this chapter with an error and so I'm reuploading it! Thank you so much to raizamaia for pointing it out!**

**Thanks for reading this far too! Every review, follow and favorite are super appreciated!**


	5. 40 Years in the Desert Pt 2

**Chapter 5: 40 Years in the Desert, Pt. 2**

It took Aziraphale almost two months to get used to living alongside Crawly back in Egypt. After he left, the angel expected it'd take the same amount of time to get used to living without the demon too. Unfortunately, it didn't. It took him a few years to get used to the idea of not seeing him daily. It took him a decade to get used to the thought of probably never crossing paths again in the next forty years. And still he didn't know how long it'd take him to get used to the idea of never seeing the Serpent again. And Aziraphale knew he'd be lying to himself if he said that he didn't miss the annoying red-haired being he called 'friend' ten years ago.

The angel still managed to lie to everybody else. Apparently humans weren't as perceptive as he was, and they all assumed he was over Crawly. Well, all of them but Moses of course, who always knew better. Due to that, whenever an entertaining event could happen, the prophet would try to get Aziraphale involved with it, providing the angelic being a small distraction. And a wedding from one of the sons of Zebulon was definitely a good distraction.

Or, at least, it would've been if all of a sudden a familiar red-haired female being hadn't sat by his side on the table. Aziraphale's poor reaction was to choke on his food as soon as he saw the demon grinning back at him.

"Didn't imagine you as the party kind" Crawly let out as she grabbed a bottle of wine and poured it in a cup. "Want some?"

So, casual talk was a thing now between them. "No, thanks" the angel answered, not entirely sure about how to feel. He had missed her. He thought they weren't going to see each other again in a long time, and… suddenly she was there, sitting by his side, drinking as if all that time hadn't passed at all, as if they had last seen each other only a few hours ago. Aziraphale sighed reluctantly. "Why are you here? And like… this?" he questioned pointing to the obvious change of effort the demon was currently wearing.

Crawly shrugged. "Eh, felt like knowing what the big deal with the female kind was. Not much change physically if you ask me"

Aziraphale eyed her suspiciously. "You're not allowed in the camp"

"So what? Are you going to tell on me? Isn't your kind supposed to lend a hand to their brothers and all that shit?" she asked mockingly.

The Principality rolled his eyes. God, he really did miss being allowed to show his irritation. "The thing is, Crawly, that your kind is supposed to do the opposite. Why are you here? In fact- wait, how did you even get here?"

"Philistines" the red-haired being simply answered after a small pause. "Dagon likes them, for some reason they believe they are a God" she explained wide opened eye, clearly disturbed by that fact. "Anyways, Hell wanted to mess up a bit with your crew, and as you can't have sex with anyone from outside the camp…" she made a gesture to her behinds, where a group of girls dressed up in a similar manner as herself where flirting unashamedly with some men.

The fair-haired being gasped in shock at the realization. "You've brought Philistines prostitutes to a Hebrew wedding?!"

"Eh, of course? I didn't tell you anything when you brought a Hebrew boy into an Egyptian pagan castle" Crawly replied loosely, ignoring the look of pure astonishment on her friend as he kept on staring at the scene on their backs nervously. "So, what do you think of weddings?" Crawly asked with small interest as she raised the drink to her lips again.

Aziraphale was a bit taken aback by the simplicity in which she pronounced those words. It was becoming a nasty habit of them, to act that casual in the middle of an upcoming moral disaster that was probably going to haunt both sides until the end.

For the first time in a while though, Aziraphale decided to just lay back. "Well, I… I do believe they are a wonderful celebration of love".

That answer shouldn't be that surprising knowing Aziraphale, but it still managed to make the demon choke on her drink as she couldn't help laughing her heart out. Her blond companion stared at her confused and, honestly, a bit offended by that reaction.

"I'm sorry, did I say something funny?" Aziraphale asked with an arching eyebrow.

"It's just… love celebration, angel?! Really?!" the red-haired being repeated with a smirk. "C'mon, we both know most of these marriages aren't out of love! Hey, this actual marriage is out of convenience!" she exclaimed pointing at the young couple, now bonded to be together for the rest of their human lives. There was a clear discomfort on their faces, a certain insecurity that could be read from miles away.

The angel looked down ashamed. Even he couldn't deny that the wed couple was just getting married for the sake of their families, not for the sake of their hearts. "This might not be the case but there are many people who marry the ones they love" he sighed, remembering the wedding of a young woman and her partner a few decades ago. It was placed in a private location, with a beach nearby. They were both dressed in pastel colors and proclaimed their vows in perfect synchronization, meaning every word of it. You could feel the love spreading from them even if you were two towns away from the ceremony.

"Look, I know it must be a nice sight to see when you are capable of feeling the love from others" the demon pointed out sarcastically. It probably even made the angel feel better about himself due to the fact that angels couldn't love in that way. '_I love every single creature of the Lord, Crawly, including you'._ "But weddings are one of the events that corrupt the biggest amount of people" she got closer to the angel, so nobody human could hear them talking about such things as souls, or Heaven, or Hell. It was a funny thought though. What would all of them think if they knew the truth? If they knew that an angel and a demon were chatting peacefully while observing them? It'd be something to talk about indeed. "Miserable weddings lead to miserable lives… which lead to poor life decisions that end up with your name in Hell's black list" the demon pointed out to the groom with her finger. "He had been staring at one of slaves since the ceremony began. I can smell the lust from here, and he's got power… he'll get anything he wants" she then signaled to the bride. "The girl's wrath had only grown since she walked down the aisle. Her pride is hurt. She'd probably end up killing herself or her husband in a few months"

The angel shot her a horrified glance. "Crawly, that's horrible!" he exclaimed scandalized.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, angel" she replied with a smirk before letting out her snake tongue to finish her drink. It was amusing to see the face Aziraphale made at noticing the shape of her non-human tongue: his eyes were wide opened, his mouth snapped quickly and he even gulped a little. It almost seemed like he had forgotten about Crawly being a demon at all. It was easy to forget their true essences when they were like that. To the humans, they were probably a couple of old friends catching up. To Heaven and Hell though, they'd be traitors… and fools, because who could be stupid enough to actually enjoy spending time with their mortal enemy?

"You really ought to do that when humans are around?" Aziraphale snapped back as a small blush appeared on his cheeks.

"They are all drunk off their asses. They wouldn't even notice it if we had our wings out" she shrugged off trying to pronounce all the letters with her tongue out. It came out quite ridiculous, but the angel only rolled his eyes.

"That doesn't mean we must put ourselves on the risk of being discovered. We could scare them" the angel continued shaking his head before looking for a new topic of conversation. "I've never seen you consuming human food before" he pointed out with a clear invitation to talk more. Crawly had never been really keen into indulging in that type of human experience. In all those years he'd been besides Crawly, the demon had never eaten in front of him. The angel simply assumed the red-haired being didn't enjoy consuming human's handicrafts, but now she was drinking alcohol as if it was water almost without sequels. Aziraphale had never been one to drink alcohol actually. He had a sweet tooth and after tasting it just once, his sour taste almost made him spit the entire drink out. Wine was nothing but a waste of grapes if you asked him. The angel just couldn't see what was so great about it, so of course he was astonished to see that Crawly liked it that much.

"This isn't food! Not eating!" the occult being objected with a frown. "This is alcohol, I drink it!" she explained with a less articulate voice than usual. "Tried it a few years ago in Egypt… it's great! After a few glasses everything starts to cloud away… your mind stops giving a shit. You should try it!" she suddenly moved too fast -in order to hand the drink to her companion- and the lack of equilibrium in her system made her fall to the ground.

Aziraphale stared surprised and, once he realized what had happened, he grinned. "I see now what you mean by 'your mind stops giving a shit'" he chuckled, but extended his hand out to help the embarrassed demon up.

Crawly glared at the angel with a dangerous idea creeping inside his mind. Had she been sober, she probably would've behaved better but, then again, her mind didn't give a shit anymore and she'd probably forget about it anyways. So, she took Aziraphale's hand and used the impulse of the angel trying to pick her up against him, making the blond being fall to the ground too. He fell quite gracefully, on the opposite of Crawly… but he fell nevertheless. Oh, and it was a sight worthy of a century of cold treatment as punishment. All the usual whiteness that covered Aziraphale was now getting mixed up with the different dark tones of the dirt he was laying on. His hair was a complete mess and his pale skin was now brown. It was hilarious, the best demonic work Crawly had done yet.

"Oh, you, you… wicked old serpent!" the angel shouted angrily, though he sounded more like a child having a tantrum than a pissed off Principality ready to smite a demon. That situation, alongside the realization of the fact that Aziraphale had dirt on his teeth, made Crawly laugh even harder. She couldn't even manage to speak her case as she was too busy laughing hysterically. The demon had to cover her stomach as it had started to ache once she saw Aziraphale fold his arms and look away, clearly expecting an apology that wasn't going to come soon.

After a few minutes of being surrounded by nothing but the laughter of the red-haired demon, Aziraphale started to consider his options. Leaving was the most rational one. He shouldn't be talking to the enemy in the first place and, now that she had humiliated him, he was sure that he didn't even owe her any politeness. He should leave. But then his gaze turned back to the demon by his side and had to fight the urge of smiling at her. The dark creature seemed just… so happy. Aziraphale had missed that laugh, he realized. That open laugh, with her whole heart into it, with no cares in the world. And, even with his serpent tongue out, she had never looked as holy as she did in that moment. So, yes, he could leave... or have the last laugh.

So, the angel rolled his eyes and let his own smile out. This went unnoticed by the amused demon, who just kept on laughing as if there was no tomorrow. Making good use of not being watched, Aziraphale looked at the wet dirt he was sat on. It wasn't wet enough to be mud, but that could be changed with a snap of his fingers.

"Hey!" Crawly exclaimed as she felt something wet, sticky and heavy hit her back. It hadn't hurt at all really, but she could feel how that weird substance was still on her back even if it probably was harmless. Her laughter stopped and she turned to the side to see a smirking Aziraphale holding a ball of mud on his left hand.

The angel openly laughed at him. He clearly was mocking at her as a revenge for throwing him into the ground. The demon opened her mouth in shock. The bloody angel had decided to avenge himself by starting a mud fight. He could've left, could've been offended and stayed out of his way for decades but, instead, chose to throw him a ball of mud. It was a simple curse of action. It couldn't even be considered as an attack due to the fact that mud was the least deadly thing to use against a demon. Even a fork could be more efficient if injuring her had been the true goal behind that ball of mud. But no. Aziraphale… didn't want to hurt her. In fact, he must have known that Crawly would probably answer that attack, so it wasn't even a warning to make her stop. No… the angel was… tempting her into a mud fight. And she'd be dammed if she didn't let herself be tempted.

With a snap of her fingers, any action they made would go unseen by the humans around them. Then, she took the fresh mud in her hands and smirked at the angel. "You have no chances against me, an-" she was interrupted by another ball hitting her face. The demon would've been really pissed about that, if it wasn't for Aziraphale's laughter that felt like music to his ears. Fuck. He looked so happy she had to sober up, deciding to remember every little detail about that night.

Finally, she threw a ball of mud against her angel, who gracefully dodged it with a smirk. "Not much of a thrower, are you, dear?"

Crawly should've threatened the angel with her fangs at the moment, but she froze instead. _Dear_. That… she never heard Aziraphale calling her like that before. It was a term usually used for people you care about, right? It wasn't a term used for enemies or acquaintances. Did Aziraphale trust her? Were they really friends? She couldn't recall the last time she met someone who trusted her. It definitely hadn't happened since she fell. _Dear_. And the way he said it. It was pronounced with such tenderness… the angel had never spoken to anyone like that before. Could it be that perhaps she was special for him after all? Not just another creature of God Aziraphale had to be kind with but actually a creature Aziraphale wanted to be kind with?

Another mud of ball fell into her chest. Well, perhaps he wasn't that kind. She smirked as she threw a ball that finally got the angel. "Brown isn't your color, angel"

The blond being chuckled. "Oh, but it definitely is yours, dear"

And Crawly's smile softened at hearing that term again. She threw another ball, using a little of her demonic powers this time, so it would definitely land on the angel's soft hair. "Seems like evil is triumphing over good again… how does it feel to know you'll lose over such an incredible demon?"

The angel pouted at her. "This will take hours to take off, Crawly!" he complained making the demon laugh. "And I hit you more times… I take it as a victory to my side"

As soon as he finished saying that, another ball hit his chest. "Three against three, angel"

They both started to throw balls furiously, though without real anger behind them. They both failed really hard at maintaining the 'good versus evil' game up for another five seconds, due to the huge grins on their faces betraying them. Perhaps that was the better way to sort things out between their sides: to have a nice and harmless physical fight that didn't include actual weapons. There wouldn't even be need for an Apocalypse to come in that way actually. It could work… well, it would work if every angel in Heaven was like Aziraphale and if every demon in Hell was like Crawly. It would work if they could stop seeing each other as the enemy, realizing that, perhaps, deep down… they did have a lot of things in common.

After a while, the game was starting to tire them off, and they began to stand too close to each other to even make it interesting. And, as Crawly directly used her own hands full of mud to stain Aziraphale's clothes, they started to realize the proximity and made two steps away from each other, keeping the appropriate distance.

The demon blushed furiously at seeing how dirty and wet the angel by her side was. He was a mess, definitely in need of a bath… she coughed loudly. "So… the old battle between good and evil got a bit carried away, huh?"

The angel chuckled. "I must admit, I have never put that much effort into a battlefield before"

"Well, I'm fluttered to finally be the opponent that drags out the soldier inside of you" Crawly smiled sweetly at him. "Pity it wasn't enough though".

Aziraphale openly glared at that. Of course he would be offended by that, and Crawly couldn't help but chuckling a bit at her own malice. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, you know…" the demon started as she walked closer to Aziraphale, only to start circling around him. "I mean that you lost, but don't be so beaten up… I'm the creator of the original sin, angel. You never stood a chance"

"I beg to differ, dear" he said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer, making the demon freeze again. "I'd say it was quite a match… I did hit you more times and you cheated by using your powers many times" he whispered into her ear. "But I'll settle with a tie" he decided dropping her arm and smiling innocently.

Crawly slowly began to repose herself. "A-a tie?"

"Yes. We both had our moments of glory, but none of us did a better job to be honest"

_A tie between good and evil_. That wasn't allowed in Hell, let alone in Heaven. Though they weren't in any of those places now, were they? They were on Earth. And as long as humans and free will existed, then truces could exist too. "Yeah, I'm fine with a tie too" she said trying not to sound too stunned with the bare implication of what a tie meant, deciding to think about it later as she usually did.

The angel smiled at her and looked up at the wedding taking place in front of them instead. He slowly went back to his seat, staring at the food on the table with wondering eyes. Crawly sighed before following him. After all, what else could he do but follow the angel? Of course, she had missed him badly. The demon got automatically bored the moment she left the camp. It was sad how there was no one half as interesting as Aziraphale to talk to out there. The angel may be a prude party-pooper sometimes, but he could also be a bastard with the best answers and most unexpected questions. Her hands started to tremble anxiously as she watched how her blond companion picked up a pomegranate and took a bite of it, its juice falling through the border of his lips. Was that common? That is… Aziraphale was an angel, so it could be completely normal to feel better when you were around an angel, right? Right?

"Oh, this is nice. You should try it!" the angel exclaimed handing a few pomegranates seeds to the demon.

"Not unless you try alcohol" she smirked.

"I know what alcohol does, so no thank you".

A hand was suddenly on Crawly's shoulder. The demon stood still, recognizing what that meant. "The girls are ready, our lady" one of her women informed, her voice shaking in a frightened tone that Aziraphale quickly picked up.

The red-haired being sighed, knowing what came next. She shouldn't complain... being a demon she hadn't been through many despicable situations. And work was the reason why she went there at all: the reason why she had been so insistent towards going back to the camp… no, no, it had nothing to do with Aziraphale… it was her job, meeting the angel was just a small consequence of it. _Sure you did_. "Fuck…" she let her unfinished drink on the table. "Right, well, angel… duty calls!" Crawly exclaimed, not really sounding convincing.

The moment Aziraphale saw the group of Philistines girls walking away and being followed by different men from the camp, he knew what was going to happen. God had been rather specific with her orders: men weren't allowed to lay with Philistines women. But humans were always a rather rebel species. The Principality looked back at the feast in front of him. It was a smart move, he admitted. Nobody was going to pay attention to a few idiots going outside of the camp to do something as primitive as having sex. "I should tell Moses" he reposed out loud. But as he glanced back to see a dark-haired man putting a hand around Crawly's waist, he couldn't resist it any longer.

That night, Aziraphale did many things he had never done before. Felt things he hadn't felt before too. He knew he was jealous as he drank the rest of Crawly's drink on one shot. He knew he was furious at himself as he stood up and began to curse every little creature alive while following them. He knew he was acting like an idiot when he realized how shocked Crawly was to see him there. "Aziraphale?" asked the man who was closer to her in shock.

The Principality quickly realized that the demon wasn't the only one surprised. Oh, there it goes… his chaste reputation was more than over by the time he grabbed Crawly's hand. "Can I have a word with you?" he was pretty certain that many of the lads gasped at that.

Crawly was quite astonished too, though there was a small twitch in the side of her mouth that soon enough turned into a grin. "Well, why, of course!" she exclaimed too enthusiastically. "Let me… eh, take you to a more comfortable place, my lord"

Roleplaying. Right. Aziraphale assumed he deserved that treatment after basically ruining her temptation. But that didn't mean that he had to like it. He openly pouted at her while still following her steps into a small empty tent at the border of the camp. The angel glanced back at the dark-haired man only once: the human seemed quite annoyed for not getting what he wanted. Aziraphale felt guilty… but he also felt weirdly relieved.

"So, a word with me? Is there anything you forgot to tell me, angel?"

Aziraphale was surprised to find no bitterness in her words. In fact, Crawly seemed more relaxed than what she had been outside under the grip of those men. And he wondered, for the first time in his existence, if Crawly actually found pleasure in doing her demonic works. "Do you really enjoy lying with them?"

The question shouldn't have surprised her that much. But it did. Of course it did. And her defense walls were tumbling down again. "Hmm… wasn't planning to" she admitted before looking down. "Perks of being a demon, I can simply knock them out before anything happens" she sighed. "The rest's not that lucky though"

"Oh" the angel didn't know how to respond to that, and so he simply turned around to stare at the scene outside the tent. It wasn't a really pleasant view, and the girls weren't clearly enjoying it either.

Crawly glanced at the wet angel standing with fiddling hands as he watched outside of her tent. Aziraphale seemed nervous. Of course, angels weren't really experts in sex-related topics. Though he was informed enough to recognize it. _Tempt him. _The demon looked away for a second. She couldn't do that… Aziraphale has never fallen into her temptations in the past. _You never properly tempted him in the past_. She pursed her lips; the taste of alcohol was still fresh there. She thought of all their struggling in the mud, of their laughs, of Aziraphale following her, of their wet bodies in need of heat. _Tempt him. _She thought of humans in disgust: the way they would touch each other, breathe into one and other, kiss fiercely and possessively. The red-haired couldn't exactly imagine Aziraphale being like those men outside who didn't care about the girls they were fucking. They would hurt them, submit them, searching for their own personal selfish pleasure. Sex had always been that way since the beginning. Adam would lead; Eve would give herself away in exchange. It wasn't a fair deal. That may be the main reason why Crawly had never tried it herself, preferring to tempt humans into being with other humans.

The angel finally closed the tent's entrance with a sharp movement. He stared at it as if he was trying to compose himself, trying not to have a breakdown. The demon knew with a concerning certainty that Aziraphale wouldn't be like that during sex. He was kind, sweet, protective and selfless. He'd be a great choice to lose her corporeal virginity with… no, he'd never fall for it. The blue-eyed being may be gullible but he wasn't an idiot. As soon as he'd realize it, he'd fling away. _You don't know that_. _Perhaps he desires you too_. The female presenting being smiled in determination, ignoring the 'too' that would've helped her in the future.

Softly and cautiously, she untied her belt and let her ropes fall to the floor, without Aziraphale actually noticing it. The angel coughed a few times. "So, how long have you been with the Philistines?" he asked before turning around. His breath was caught in his throat as soon as he saw the current state of nudity his companion. It had been a while since he saw a body completely naked and, as Crawly smirked at his surprise, something told Aziraphale that the demon was aware of it.

The idea of Crawly assuming that he'd get inside that tent for indulging into that type of carnal sin annoyed the angel in new ways. Perhaps she had been surrounded by prostitutes for long enough to actually believe Aziraphale would react like any human would do. The Principality inspected her from head to toes with one glance: she was definitely a tempting sight. "Aren't you cold?"

Crawly was considered one of the most important tempters in Hell. She had been the downfall of the human kind once. She had tempted Noah into drinking alcohol for the first time. She had tempted Cherubs into screwing with mortals. She had tempted priests and traitors, lovers and enemies. However, she had never used her own body for it. And so, Aziraphale's lack of response was more than a disappointing one. "We're in a desert" she reluctantly answered, a tad embarrassed.

"It's still night" he disinterestedly answered before sitting on the ground, looking away from her. "You know… Moses' caravan has been punished by the Almighty due to all the… disrespectful behavior they had been showing" the angel snorted. "You would've found them entertaining… anyways, we're ought to stay in the desert for forty years" and Aziraphale didn't even try to hide his disgust at the idea. "It's dreadful… but Michel insisted on me staying with them until they arrive to the Promised Land"

Crawly chuckled herself. "Oh, what a shame I wasn't there to laugh at your face when you received the news".

Aziraphale rolled his eyes. "I couldn't bring myself to talk to Moses in weeks afterwards… I know he doesn't exactly want me here confined either, but none of us have a choice on the matter" he frowned in thought. "He once told me that I should've left with you"

Crawly arched an eyebrow at that. Moses had been an incredibly sensitive kid since his birth. They both had influenced him somehow during his years in Egypt, and the young Hebrew had once expressed his suspicions towards them. He had called them 'best friends' once. He had called them 'lovers' another time. The night Crawly left, Aziraphale called her 'rival'. The demon was slowly beginning to conclude that Aziraphale was all of those at the same time.

"Moses has always been bold" the demon reposed, refusing to express out loud how badly she had wanted that night to be followed by the angel. The red-haired sat beside him, spreading her legs a bit as she did so.

Aziraphale smiled bitterly. "I'm going to miss him. When he'll die, I mean" he admitted in a thin voice. It felt strange, he figured. Moses was like a relative at this point, the prophet went from being a lousy kid to a wise young man who was willing to sacrifice everything in order to do what's right. The angel was proud of him in a brotherly way. However, he also felt rather exposed in front of the prophet due to the fact that he knew him too much for his own liking. Enough to notice the angel's preference regarding the Serpent of Eden. _'You should leave with him'_ he had said that night. Aziraphale's undeniable happiness at hearing that phrase had haunted him since. He didn't leave of course, but he had _wanted _to.

"Yeah, me too" the presenting female being agreed. "He had quite the potential with all those pranks he would play on the pharaoh" she smiled at noticing the way Aziraphale laughed at that. _Tempt him_. He won't fall for it. Aziraphale was too good for that. Plus, the key for a successful temptation was that the victim must be secretly interested. _He enjoyed touching you in the past._ The demon bit her lower lip as she remembered it. The red-haired embraced herself. "Ha, I am a bit cold now" she said before leaning closer to the angel. "Would you mind?" she asked signaling at his shoulder.

Aziraphale's eyes weren't looking directly at her, not since he had found that particular spot in the ground. His blue eyes were avoiding her, she knew it. Was it out of disgust or for self-preservation? She couldn't tell. The blue-eyed being glanced at her quickly before looking away. "Not at all. If your head's not that heavy, that is"

Crawly saw a small spark of hesitation in that glance, a small spark she wanted to see again. "Heavy? Me?" she asked amusingly before putting her head on his shoulder. She cautiously raised her hand so it'd be on the angel's chest and, fast enough not to be discovered, she pushed him down. The red-haired quickly seated herself between his legs before hesitation would beat her again.

Aziraphale didn't do anything to avoid being laid on the ground but a small gasp of surprise. The demon knew what he was capable of. She knew that the Principality was strong enough to punch a hole in the hard stoned walls of Eden. And so, Crawly was more than motivated at the lack of negative response. His hazel eyes stared back at her, a slight darkness and fluttered expression in his face. The angel was visibly intrigued as he was under her thin tainted body, staring up at her in pure astonishment and awe. He seemed so vulnerable, so willing, so… _sweetly disposed for her_. Crawly couldn't resist caressing his cheek, holding him in the same way he'd done so many times before. "You're alwayss ssso warm, angel… what'ss your ssecret?"

Aziraphale's skin felt warmer as he noticed the way her large tongue would slip out of her mouth with every hiss. He knew he should be looking for some way out. If he'd ever find himself in that exact same position with a human… well, the angel would've vanished before the situation ever came to happen. However, Crawly had always been an exception. "Corporation's default traits, I suppose" he simply answered. "I can't see how you find that fact shocking as your skin is always cold too"

Crawly grinned at him. "Are you sure, angel? 'M pretty sure I'm burning right now"

As expected, Aziraphale's hand was quickly on her cheek too. Oh, that careful touch, the innocent way in which he would look at her, it was so sacrilegious that it almost felt like a blessing. The demon could feel her own corporation reacting at his touch, though her current state of nakedness didn't exactly help on the matter. Her discrete breasts felt heavier, her cunt wetter, her pupils widener. _Touch us_. And it was almost a prayer.

Aziraphale pursed his lips. "You're… quite hot, dear. Can demons get fever?"

Crawly leaned in closer to the latter's face. "Why do you call me like that?" she almost whispered against his lips. The angel raised an eyebrow making her snort. "Dear. Where does it even come from?"

"Oh" the blond being said in understanding, trying not to resolve much about the way Crawly was looking at him with her eyes half closed and an endearing smirk. "Well, I believe it's a term of endearment. When humans call other humans in that way, they seem to relax. There's more trust between them. Crawly, we've been around each other for long enough to have more trust, haven't we? I mean, I do consider you a friend of sorts"

_A term of endearment, huh? _"Yeah, we've definitely been around each other for long enough…" what's that a term he only used with her? Was that what he'd call her between moans and kisses? What's that what he'd scream in the moment of climax? 'Dear' was not really fitting for her. The demon was everything but dear. And still, she approved the term ferociously. "You can call me more than just dear though, Aziraphale"

The angel seemed rather at the loss of words at that. "Like what?"

Crawly rubbed her thighs against his once. "You can call me everything you desssire…" she rubbed them a second time. "What do you desssire, angel?" it should've left as a question, but it definitely sounded like begging as she almost moaned in his ear at the friction of his member against her cunt even if they were still separated by some layers of clothes.

Moans from his crew outside the tent could be heard, alcohol and lust were in the air and the heat of the desert was definitely messing up with Aziraphale's mind. To be honest, he should've snapped his fingers as soon as she rubbed her body against him a third time. He should've known better, should've realized what was slowly happening. And still, he stood unmoving under her touch. He was frozen, confused and so damn curious. It was new for him, that kind of curiosity. He'd never felt interested in such human pleasures in the past, and he knew Crawly must be an expert. And it was wrong. Yet it felt so right. Just like everything regarding Crawly.

_Touch him. Tempt him. _Crawly licked Aziraphale's neck just once, expecting him to shiver, to moan, to take control just like any man would do. But he didn't. In fact, he wasn't doing _anything_. The angel just stood frozen under her. The red-haired sat up again. "Eh… Aziraphale?" she asked in confusion.

Aziraphale's mind was going through another war when he heard his name being called. "Yes?" he asked not having anything else to say yet.

The fear on her face was replaced by irritation. "You know, I'm actually really trying here. Work with me a bit!"

The angel arched an eyebrow. "And how can I do that?"

He was asking. For Hell's sake, he was asking. Could it be? Could it be that Aziraphale was about to sin for her? That was a nice thought, she realized. Being the cause of his doom was actually rather kinky. Perhaps that was the center of their relationship: he was the only thing she had faith on while she was the only thing that could make him lose his faith. "Angel… there'ss lotss of thingss you could do…" the red-haired explained with the taste of his skin on her lips. "What would you like to do?"

Aziraphale's breathing was getting heater by every hiss. He was pretty sure that what he felt in his lower parts was more than just a weird reaction to that sip of alcohol he took and his mind was facing its biggest dilemma yet. '_What would you like to do?_' the angel had never been brave enough to ask himself that. The type of selfishness Crawly was suddenly asking of him was rather new. The fair-haired had never minded to show his despise over certain human activities, such as sex. But, underneath it all, there was a spark of curiosity, a small part of him that longed for touch and affection; a miniscule side of his heart that ached for love. Not the holy one, but the crazy, irritating, dependent, and deep love humans would talk about on their tales. "I'd…" the Principality gulped and looked down ashamed. He wasn't entirely sure of what he wanted. Her body looked especially lovely under the soft candlelight, her hair seemed flamer than usual, and her skin was showing some freckles he had never seen before. Even her small but sharp breasts were rather inviting. Crawly was beautiful. She had always been it, no matter the shape or effort she was wearing. The demon brought him to new experiences and emotions whenever their paths crossed. And it was terrifying. And it was thrilling. And it was _so confusing_. Aziraphale looked up at her once more, his blue eyes softened. "Can I touch you?"

Humans wouldn't ask such simple things. Males found proximity and a small nod as consensual enough. The demon even witnessed times in which just proximity and loneliness were more than a sign of allowance for them to strip a woman. The red-haired knew that if she had done what she was doing with Aziraphale with anyone else, be it human or a demon -or even another angel-, they'd already be inside of her a long time ago. And still, she found his shy question extremely tempting. Crawly leaned closer to him. "Pleassse"

The Principality's right hand touched her red hair first, slowly caressing it. His eyes began glowing as his hand went to her cheek to quickly go down her jaw. Crawly felt time itself stop as his fingers began rubbing gently, almost tentatively, her lips. His blue eyes were filled with a deadly concentration as they followed the trace of his own hand down her body. The demon's usual laid back attitude shivered. He was barely touching her, extremely cautiously, as if she was crystal instead of a demon from Hell, but she felt exposed. She felt her own soul in plain sight for Aziraphale to pick or destroy. And she wanted him to pick her. Fuck, she wanted him to choose her so badly she let out a begging moan once his hand brushed one of her breasts. The angel gazed at her eyes for one second, surprised at his own discovery, before his hand continued its path down her plain abdomen and her waist. Crawly found herself biting her lower lip to not let out any embarrassing moan or thought, though she knew that if Aziraphale would dare to just kiss her, her self-control would vanish. The demon looked down at the hand as it was arriving to her cunt.

The hand stopped. It separated from her skin trembling. She realized with excitement that his whole body was shaking with pleasure from the experience too. "You're…" the Principality took a deep breath. "Crawly, are you… tempting me?" he asked in a thin voice.

And it actually occurred to Crawly that he was doing most of the temptation at the moment. And that she wanted to fuck him. Yes. She wanted it, desired it, and almost needed it at that point. Many ideas crossed her head about how they should go on about it. It definitely was a good thing that she was rather creative.

"Crawly?" Aziraphale asked once again, his tone louder this time.

"I'm… always tempting people, Aziraphale" she waved off.

"Humans" the angel insisted. "You asked me what I'd like… I'd like to know if _this_ is just a temptation" the blond added. Aziraphale had never been capable of feeling emotions from his demonic opponent. Sometimes he wondered if that was due to their contrariwise essences: maybe angels couldn't sense demons' emotions. Because Aziraphale had almost the certainty of the fact that Crawly was more than capable of feelings things such as compassion, anguish, humility and mercy. Still, there was a small question inside of his mind. '_Demons cannot love_' he once was told by a Cherub in the same matter of '_demons like pain'_. He knew the latter was a lie, and he wondered if that affirmation regarding love was another made up trait from his side.

The red-haired being wasn't entirely sure about what to answer. It technically started as a temptation. She wanted him to be tempted by her, but it didn't feel like a temptation. She wasn't content with her work. There was no smugness, no satisfaction or feeling of domination. Crawly realized that she didn't care for any of that. It hadn't been out of a mission from Hell, or a moment of creativity. Crawly just wanted to tempt him because she wanted… Aziraphale to have sex with her. Huh, maybe there was something odd about her relationship with the angel. "It… technically is temptation, you could call it that, yes"

She was surprised to see a slight darkness in his deep blue eyes. "You're tempting me?" Aziraphale asked again, slightly scandalized. Crawly couldn't bring herself to do anything but nodding. "Right…" the angel mumbled before looking away for a bit. "Could you please stand up?" he asked coldly but still politely. The demon obeyed and Aziraphale stood up too. "It's been a pleasure, then. Do take care" he said with avoiding eyes before leaving the tent in a rush.

It took Crawly a few seconds coming back from the cloud she was on to realize what had happened. Aziraphale assumed she wanted to tempt him… and he left. "Wait, Aziraphale!" she called putting her clothes on with a miracle and following the angel outside of the tent. "Angel!" the demon exclaimed at noticing the blond angelical figure walking back to the camp.

"Temptation… it was a temptation…" he continued mumbling with a flaming feeling on his chest. The typical irritation he felt towards Crawly had been multiplied and transformed into pure wrath. He was, oh, he was so _mad_ at her at the moment. How dare she try to tempt him? As if he was some sort of common human? As if he wasn't capable of smiting her if needed? And, the worst part of all was… that he almost gave in. In fact, he knew in his heart that if her answer had been 'no'… he wouldn't have been able to resist it. If it hadn't been a temptation, if she only had expressed some sort of sincere interest towards him moreover a bare temptation… Aziraphale would've allowed it. He heard his name being called by that sinful voice. The Principality stopped in his track sharply. What was wrong with him? What was he doing? Why did he almost lay with a demon? Why did he want it? The blond being thought of romances and love as he was under the grip of the completely naked Serpent of Eden. And he touched her. And his body yearned for it. "Was it Hell?" he asked loudly while turning around to face the sinful companion. "Did Hell ask you to tempt me? Did you have a choice on the matter?"

His usually soft voice had a coldness she'd never heard before. It went down on her that, underneath his kindness and softness, Aziraphale was still a Principality, a soldier, a weapon from Heaven: the Guardian of the Eastern Gate. "Not really" she answered avoiding his cold gaze, staring at the ground instead. She sighed. "Don't take it personally, alright? 'M a tempter, angel. 'S my job, if I have a chance, I'd-"

"Who are you trying to convince, Crawly?" Aziraphale folded his arms. "You've never done this. Not to me, not like this" the angel's anger was showing through his calm façade. "Why did you do it?" he asked pronouncing each word with huge emphasis.

_Because I want you_. "He made me do it!" the red-haired exclaimed in defeat.

The blue-eyed being arched an eyebrow. "He? Like, Satan he?"

"No! My…" Crawly groaned, trying to think of a better way to explain his situation. _Don't. He'll freak out more. You'll never see him again._ "My snake!"

That new information surprised the angel enough to calm his temper. "Your snake? But- I mean… you _are_ a snake, Crawly"

_See? He doesn't believe you! He'll never understand us_. Crawly closed her eyes. Demons weren't supposed to reveal that fact about them. It was a secret. They didn't talk about, never shared the worst consequence of falling. "Demons, we- ha, you'd find this funny. We all have… like an animal. Like, well, it's not literally an animal, but a being, a part of our soul that is completely demoniac and reminds us of what we're supposed to do" Crawly opened her eyes to stare at a confused Aziraphale. At the very least he didn't seem upset anymore, just a bit lost. "My animal's a snake… obviously… and it, eh, tells me- advises me. He's technically a part of me, the evil one, the one that contained the sin that made me fall concentrated. It's what links me to Hell and well- reminds me what I am"

The angel's eyebrows frowned together in thought. "You're basically telling me that… you have a snake conscience that tells you to do… demonic works?" Crawly blushed at that and nodded embarrassed. "But he is… for what I understand, he's a part of you?"

"Yep" the demon snorted. "He's my evil side- that's- I'm _evil_, but he's like all of it concentrated".

The angel's arms unfolded. In reality, he was still rather upset at the idea of Crawly using her job on him… but he also felt rather touched by the way in which the demon told him that. It couldn't be a lie; it was rather pathetic and embarrassing. No, Crawly wouldn't come up with something that stupid. Plus, her flustered face and stammering tone were more than proof to realize that she was being painfully honest, and that she was probably telling that truth for the first time. Aziraphale took a deep breath, calming his anger down. "Does he usually talk about me?"

Impossible as it seemed, her blush worsened at that. "Hum… quite. A lot. He does not- you know- like our friendship that much. He's the one who told me to kill you back in the cave… I was originally going to ignore you" she chuckled nervously at that.

The blond being made a step closer to her. "Can I… talk to him?"

_You don't want to know what I'll tell him._ Crawly tilted her head uncomfortably to the sides. "Not sure. He… eh, listens to everything you say though"

Aziraphale seemed a tad disappointed by that. "Oh, in that case… just thank him"

"Thank him? For what exactly?" the red-haired being snorted, trying to hide her sudden nerves and fears of being abandoned forever. She wouldn't be surprised if he said something in the lines of 'thank him because now I never want to see you again'.

"Because we wouldn't have properly met otherwise" the angel stated so naturally she almost had a stroke.

_I regret that every single day_. Crawly knew he didn't though, because she herself couldn't regret it. It was crazy to think it. If it hadn't been because of her demonic instinct, she wouldn't have been so attracted to the angel in the first place. "He doesn't really like you much" she laughed.

"I presume… if I had a heavenly guardian, they'd despise you too" Aziraphale stated as a matter of fact.

"Fair enough"

Aziraphale pursed his lips again, a dangerous idea crossing his mind. "May I ask him… Why… lust? Out of all the sins I could've fallen for… lust's never been my type" the angel reposed with a confused expression. "Your inner demon's just as malicious as you are, dear" he laughed.

Crawly allowed herself to laugh at that joke, though she was quiet concerned about the implications of that. It was true and she was aware of it. Her own instinct knew there was a high chance of failure: Aziraphale had never been interested in carnal sins. The answer to that question couldn't even be 'saw a chance and used it'. No. The angel seemed nothing but nauseous at the other men of his crew satisfying their needs with the rest of the prostitutes. He was uncomfortable, not intrigued. The red-haired being licked her lips. They still tasted like Aziraphale. "Perhaps I wanted to tempt you" she let out with a shaky voice. "Perhaps I wanted you to desire me too"

'_Too'_ she said and Aziraphale's anger melted away in one second. '_Too'_ she had mumbled and Aziraphale's lips trembled at the idea. He wasn't desirable or tempting. He was kind, soft, rather slow. He wasn't at the same level of Crawly in sensuality. The demon was a red apple. He was a plain pear, Crawly would never long for someone like him now, could she? Not that he cared, of course. It was just… practical to get some stuff sorted out before another situation like the one he'd just gone through repeated in the future. _'What would you like to do?_' That was a good question he wished he could answer truthfully.

Before he could say something out loud, a female shriek was heard from the camp. Both beings glanced at each other in concern before running to the sources of the screaming. They were both surprised to find Moses scolding at his men. He quickly glanced at the angel and the demon once, before glancing back again in disbelief.

"Crawly?!" Moses recognized in surprise before arching a suspicious eyebrow at Aziraphale.

The angel huffed offended. "Oh, please don't start" the blond begged as Crawly also raised a curious eyebrow at him.

"I'll start, Zira, I'll definitely start" Moses reposed before signaling at him with an accusing finger, replicating the emotion of an elder lecturing their youngster. "You told me you couldn't be with him and now-"

"Moses! We didn't lay together!" Aziraphale hurried to say with a red face.

_Nope_, thought Crawly bitterly as she remembered how she had messed it up earlier. But it almost happened, and that filled her with some odd sensation of hope. "Missed you too, kid" she almost snarled.

That got him to stop in a snort. "Your mischiefs are more than missed, Crawly" he said before wrapping her in a tight and surprising hug that lasted a few seconds at most. "But you can't stay, you've heard her word".

"Seems like you've matured in the last decade, kid" the red-haired added, avoiding his gaze. "Quite the leader you've become on your own"

The brown-haired blushed and looked at his angel friend. "I had some help actually" he smiled at both of them. He loved Aziraphale, as he had slowly turned into his older brother. But, if he was to be honest, he missed them both, their bond, the way they balanced each other, the surprisingly chaotic but good team they made together. Even being aware of their true identities, Moses knew those two adored each other. What a shame, he sometimes thought. For God had told him herself what would store in the future for them. "How many of my men did you tempt?" he asked with a menacing frown.

The demon smirked. "Let's just say… most of your crew definitely enjoyed themselves tonight"

Moses shook his head in disappointment. "God ordered to have all the prostitutes who were laid tonight killed"

Crawly's amber eyes wide opened in horror at hearing that. He glanced at Aziraphale, who was just as astonished. "You… Moses, I've seen what those girls are living through" the blond being started softly, his blue eyes glowing with tears. "Don't make their pain grow" he begged before grabbing the prophet's hands. "My boy, listen to me: they're not responsible and should not be punished. Exile the men if necessary, don't punish them"

His brown eyes hesitated a bit, but after one glance at Crawly, they hardened again. "She warned me about this" he mumbled. "She said that the day you'd try to tempt me, it'll all begin"

The demon arched an eyebrow. "Tempt you? I wasn't planning to, I don't need your permission, kid. With one snap, I'll have them all hidden and safe somewhere you could never find them"

Moses let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm not talking about you" his eyes were suddenly fixed on the gentle blue that were Aziraphale's eyes. Both demon and angel exchanged a shocked glance, the intensity of the prophet's words finally settling in as Aziraphale dropped his hands in panic. "Get the girls. You have ten minutes to escape, Crawly" he signaled at the route with his stick. The demon made one step away and was quickly stopped by the stick. "This is the last time we'll see each other" he admitted with the certainty of someone who had spoken to the Almighty herself. "Keep on taking care of the fussy angel over here. Though I doubt you wouldn't do it even if I tell you so…" he smiled at noticing Crawly's soft eyes, which looked back at Aziraphale. There was longing in those eyes, longing and a promise.

The demon pursed her lips. "What began?" the red-haired looked at him deeply in the eye. "You said that it'll all begin. What- what happened?"

"Change" Moses simply answered content. "Change began".

* * *

**Notes:**

**The whole wedding business was actually made up, not the fact that once the Hebrews were ordered by God to murder foreign girls for sleeping with their men though or the Dagon stuff.**  
**Turns out the main God of the Philistines -a tribe that bothered the Hebrews dozens of times in the Bible- was called Dagon. Looking it back as the agnostic ass I am, it actually makes sense that the christians took that pagan God and turned them into a demon in their holy scriptures. And I definitely had to use that in the story... I've never seen someone mentioning it and it's definitely a fun fact.**  
**Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I always liked the idea of these two committing lust with each other before actually realizing their mutual attraction is out of love. And Aziraphale finding out about Crawly's snake won't definitely affect the plot in the future...**  
**Take care on this new Apocalypse! Try to stay at home as much as possible. All comments and kudos are more than appreciated!**


End file.
